New Delhi: When he
first walked in to bat in an ODI- against West Indies at Brisbane,
1992- an aura befitting of a prince preceded him. Rumours had it that a
19-year old Sourav Ganguly had attitude problems, what’s more, he even
refused to carry drinks for his team mates, saying it was not his job.
While facts continue to elude us, his not-so-happening debut (he
was promptly dropped after scoring 3 in his first ODI) told the world
that a royal was on his way to Team India.
Four years later, he returned. Picked in the playing XI at the
expense of Navjot Singh Siddhu after the latter left the tour mid-way
following differences with then skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, Ganguly
scored a silken 131 at Lords.
From his dream debut as a gifted strokemaker to his retirement as a
modern great, Sourav Ganguly’s career has been tumultuous to say the
least. We take a look at some of his key cricketing milestones:
The Arrival
Drafted into playing XI for the second Test against England at
Lords, Ganguly made a memorable debut with a sublime 131. He followed it
with a delicious 136 at Trent Bridge in the very next game to announce
his pomp.
The prince had arrived.
Ganguly the Butcher
With scoreboard reading 4/2, Ganguly joined forces with Rahul
Dravid to forge what still is the highest partnership in World Cup
history.
The Prince of Calcutta displayed his full repertoire of heavenly
off-side play en route a majestic 183 at Taunton, lacing it with 17
fours and 7 mighty sixes.
Baptism by fire
His first major ICC event since assuming captaincy-Champions Trophy
2000- had Saurav Ganguly in full flow, as a captain, and as a
batsman.
He led India to the finals of the above mentioned trophy, slaying Australia and South Africa in the process.
His 141 against South Africa remains a classical case study on carnage sans gore.
Aussies? Bring them on!
Australia came to India in 2001 with an intimidating world-record
trail of Test wins and a huge reputation to guard. Steve Waugh talked of
‘mental disintegration’ and called India final frontier. Saurav Ganguly
turned up late for the toss and got under Waugh’s skin instead.
What followed was an epic series that witnessed, along with India’s
2-1 win, a rarest of rare poetry from VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, and
yes, ‘Turbanator’ arrived too!
Wild at NatWest
Ah the famous shirt-twirl! Following an improbable win in the
NatWest finals, Ganguly cocked-a- snook at English side with his
now-famous shirt-twirl.
A no-nonsense generation had arrived.
The World Cup voyage
Another fairytale odessey, fostered by yet another Ganguly
masterclass. Galvanising a side that was woefully short of self-belief,
Ganguly led India to World Cup finals, before they ran into an
unstoppable Rickey Ponting.
India won 9 out of their 11 games, losing their first and final games to Australia.
Pakistan conquered
The historic 2004 series against Pakistan in Pakistan was won by India, and Saurav Ganguly was at the helm of it all.
He became the first captain to lead India to a series win against the arch-rivals in their backyard.
The revival
Plagued by prolonged run of low-scores, Ganguly’s career looked all
but over after his disagreements with then coach Greg Chappell became
public.
Not new to controversies, Ganguly responded with his bat, hitting a
purple patch in England and scoring a maiden Test double- a majestic
239- against Pakistan.
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