Sourav Ganguly
February 23, 2007
Sourav Ganguly, the name itself encapsulates a thousand stories, starts a hundred debatable topics, reminds you of a story that holds more twists and turns than any soap opera. Dada, as he is affectionately called, captained Team India from 2000 to 2005, and during that tenure led India to incredible success including the finals of the 2003 World Cup. In a career laden with achievements and controversy, Saurav Ganguly has occupied the centre stage in Indian cricket for over a decade. But more than anything, its his batting that really captivates any fan.
One of the cleanest strikers and sweetest timers of the ball, Saurav Ganguly is an exceptional player of the off side. So much so, that his successor as captain, Rahul Dravid, once commented, On the off side, first there is God, then there is Ganguly. There isn’t an attack that he has not mercilessly slaughtered, no gap in the field that he hasn ot found. And he has amassed 15000 runs in the process, and is next only to Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya in number of centuries. His partnerships with Tendulkar are the stuff of legends.The fastest to 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 runs in ODIs, the Prince of Calcutta has many records to his credit. But more than the statistics, it is the sheer joy of watching the Bengal tiger in all his glory, that is worth mentioning. Just bring on the off-spinner in front of Ganguly in form, and he pounces on the chance. He steps to the pitch of the ball and hits a clean blow straight out of the ground, a shot which has now become his trademark.
The rise of Ganguly to prominence has been as exciting as his batting. Cricket was not his first love, and he only took to the sport as a pastime. He used his brothers equipment, who was a lefty, so he turned into a left handed batsman as well. And when he started excelling in the sport, further drama followed in the Ganguly household as his inclusion into the Ranji squad was at the cost of his brother’s place. He didn’t let them down however, and was soon selected into the national squad. And he flopped badly to spend the next few years in anonymity. But not being one to step back ever, he finally found a place in the Indian squad in the 96 tour of England. What followed was a century on debut and in his second match. Saurav Ganguly had made a mark on world cricket and was here to stay.
The following years saw him rise to the top of world cricket, with an average of 40+ and many memorable knocks like the 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup. What added to Ganguly’s utility was his handy work with the ball as well. A gentle medium pacer, he has nearly a hundred ODI wickets and many feel he could have done a lot better in that department.
An aggressive character on field, he was finally made captain of team India in 2000. And he was just the kind of Captain that a youthful side trying to emerge from the shadows of match fixing needed. His fire and determination spread through the team and he led team India to unprecedented success. Wins in away test series, a run of 13 consecutive finals of tournaments, Champoions trophy and World Cup finals followed. The image of a jubilant Ganguly swinging his shirt from the Lords balcony as India won the Natwest Trophy is a part of cricketing folklore. He presented the team with character and a will to fight, a will that often led him into trouble with match officials and kept him wrapped in controversy always.
But his personal form declined over the years and he was often criticized for being unable to play the short ball. After many failures, and public fall outs with coach Greg Chappell, he was unceremoniously dropped from the side and his career looked over.
But yet again, after a 15 month lay off, the Prince of Calcutta roared back to grab a man of the series award in his return series in Feb 07. A Padma Shri and Arjuna awardee, Ganguly is known to be a quiet man with nerves of steel. A devoted husband and a religious person, his marriage with wife Dona is no less eventful than any Hindi movie.
And heading into the world cup, he once again looks ready to shine, to mark his territory and as always, and to provide a solid answer to all those who ever doubted his abilities. No matter how he fairs, one thing is for certain, that there is a lot many chapters to be written in the amazing tale of our beloved Dadaa.
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8 Responses to “Sourav Ganguly”
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Saurav is too good batsman
if he was caption in the world cup. result was great.
you are so bad
* A legendary Batsman does not neds any defenitions * he does not needs any stats to show his talent *
best captian, awesome batsman, agressive, smart, handsome, intelligent, strong, noble and a very good cricketer. all these words are apt 4 our greatest captian sourav ganguly.
dada, wishing u lots of happiness.
the best cricketing personality ever born in india
saurav is top batsmen in world. i like his style of plying cricket.
you are what every indian should try to be: a winner. your life is the stuff of legends.
sourav ganguly is too good i like his bating style.mostly his sixers. he hit sixer very power fully.if anybody asked me for whois the biggest hitter then i will tell sourav for ever. all bawler are fear to him. specially spiner. ialway try to batting like sourav and ball also. i like ganguly.