Legendary Indian batter Sourav Ganguly, considered one of the greatest batters and captains of all time in sport's history, turned 51 on Saturday, July 8.
Ever since his international cricket debut in 1992, Ganguly's bold, ferocious personality and strokeplay earned him not only the nickname 'Dada', but also the captaincy of Team India. He was the skipper who took over an Indian team struggling match-fixing saga in the 2000s and taught them how to win no matter what conditions and backed young cricketers who would go on to become world champions collectively in future.
Revisiting the legacy
His off-side was among the best in the game and he mesmerized fans with his cuts and drives in that region of the ground, earning him the nickname 'God of Offside'. In the long format, Sourav played 113 matches. He scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17. He smashed 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries in 188 innings, with the best score of 239.
He is the seventh-highest run-scorer for India in Test cricket. He smashed a century on his Test debut against England at the Lord's in 1996. As a captain, he led India in 49 matches. Out of this, India won 21 matches, lost 13 and drew 15 matches. With a win percentage of 42.85, he is one of the most successful captains for India.
In 2001, the Ganguly-led side defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Australian team, captained by Steve Waugh, challenged India to follow on in the series, but VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid staged one of the greatest comebacks in Indian cricket history in the second Test at Kolkata. This Test series win is considered as one of India's best.
In 2004, he also oversaw an ODI and Test series in Pakistan. The Test series triumph was India's first on Pakistani soil. India also won the ODI series. Ganguly has also represented India in 311 ODIs, scoring 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02. He has scored 22 centuries and 72 half-centuries in 300 innings, with the best score of 183.
He is the ninth-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket and the third-highest run-scorer for India in ODIs. Ganguly is the fourth-fastest to 7,000 (174 innings), 8,000 (200 innings) and 9,000 ODI runs (228 innings) and third-fastest to 10,000 ODI runs (263 innings). His run in 2000 as a batter made him the player with second highest runs in ODIs in a calendar year.
In that year, Ganguly played 32 ODIs, scoring 1,579 runs at an average of 56.39. He also scored seven centuries and six fifties, with the best score of 144. He led India to 147 ODI matches, winning 76, losing 66 and five failed to produce results. In ODIs, he had a win percentage of 51.70. Ganguly led India to the finals of the 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy for the first time. India and SL also shared the title in 2002 after the final was abandoned due to rain.
Memorable moment
Ganguly's most memorable moment was definitely when he removed his shirt on the Lord's balcony and started waving it, when India famously beat England from the jaws of defeat in the Natwest Trophy finals in 2002. Ganguly also led India to the World Cup finals in 2003, where they narrowly lost to Australia in the championship game.
Overall, Ganguly represented India in 424 matches, scoring 18,575 runs in 488 innings at an average of 41.46. He has scored a total of 38 centuries and 107 fifties, with the best score of 239. He is the 15th-highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket. Ganguly is also the fourth-highest run-scorer for India in international cricket.
Ganguly also has seven centuries across ICC events, making him one of the most successful batters in ICC tournaments. He is also the last Indian to have scored a century in an ICC final at the ICC Knockouts 2000, where he made 117 against New Zealand. He has played 21 Cricket World Cup matches, in which he has scored 1,006 runs at an average of 55.88. He has four centuries and three half-centuries, with the best score of 183.
Ganguly has also played 13 matches for India in the Champions Trophy, scoring 665 runs at an average of 73.88, with three tons and three fifties in 11 innings and best score of 141*. Ganguly led India in 196 matches, winning 97, losing 79 and drawing 15. His win percentage in international cricket as captain is 49.48.
Ganguly also had a four-year stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he spent two years each with Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India. In 59 matches, he has scored 1,349 runs at an average of 25.45. He has scored seven IPL half-centuries, with best score of 91.
No matter what Ganguly's figures as a batter and captain are, Ganguly's two biggest achievements in cricket are: His winning mentality, which taught India how to win and overcome difficult conditions/situations and him backing future superstars like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, who would go on to win major ICC tournaments for India with their performances.
Two of India's captains, Dhoni and Virat Kohli got some of their traits from Ganguly, such as his leadership skills, aura, a winning mentality irrespective of conditions and tendency to back players to come good and eventually turn them into match-winners. Not only did Ganguly make Team India battle-ready with a talent pool for the future, but also set an example as to what a captain should be.
