The Man Who Dropped the Bombshell
Some days he was the bug. Some days he was the windshield. Today he finally knows which side his bread is buttered. With the recent tests between India and Australia creating the entire hullabaloo he presented a perfect appetizer before the start of the ongoing series - his declaration to finally retire from the game. He displayed the same qualities in the press conference that had once garnered him all the attention at the start of his career - exquisite timing and perfect placement.
4 years after his innocuous international debut at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, the Lord's was where he began scripting a glorious career, albeit a dappled one, with a confident display of strokes. For a really long period the cricketing world had witnessed few of the most fluent and dominant shots through the offside. After winning 4 man-of-the-match awards at the Toronto Skating, Cricket and Curling Club against Pakistan there was a point when he seemed insuperable. Numbers were not lying too. He was the quickest to cross 7000, 8000 and 9000 runs in ODIs. Considering that he played in the same era as Sachin Tendulkar did these records were by no means meant to be sneezed at.
He had a keen eye to spot balls that could be hit over mid-on and mid-wicket for huge sixes. His power combined with his flawless footwork made them look very easy. It was this shot making ability that made his ODI partnership with Sachin Tendulkar very destructive for they both were adept at changing gears when necessary. Together they demolished all records previously held by the legendary West Indian opening pair Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. But he was human. Although it took some time, turns out that he too had a chink in his armor. His vulnerability against short-pitched balls was a boon to bowlers from South Africa and Australia. Australians specially exploited this weakness in both forms of the game while South Africa conceded runs, in ODIs, at an average of 50.5 in stark contrast to his test average of 33.82.
In the year 2000 he ascended to captaincy. He saw many a famous victory as a leader. In him India found a stalwart who bloomed with aggression guiding the team by wearing his heart on his sleeve. He was India's most successful captain in the ODIs and tests until Rahul Dravid came along to fill his boots and dethroned him from the former. His most noteworthy achievement in the driver's seat is undoubtedly steering the Indian cricket team into the World Cup 2003 finals. During this campaign he amassed 465 runs but his individual success was not largely recognized due to his 3 centuries, against minnows Kenya and Namibia, which ironically helped him equal Mark Waugh's record of 3 centuries in a single world cup edition. Winning tests on foreign soil was never India's forte. After the series victory against Bangladesh in 2000-2001 Indians seemed to be playing better away from the country than on home soil. It was his aggression that instilled in Team India a sense of self-belief and confidence.
Controversy never got tired of his company. His notorious shirt removing act, in reply to Flintoff's similar antics in India, purportedly spoiled the sanctity of Lord's at the end of the Natwest Series 2002. So be it. The Lord's needed some cleaning anyway. His altercation with Greg Chappell made him the butt of all jokes. His personal decline in the game during captaincy shows that cricket is still a game that carries with it more mental onus than physical. After an interlude he was again brought back in the Indian team but being constantly under the scanner of the selectors must have pulled the last straw. Enough was enough and he decided to call it quits.
Throughout his career he has been in the news for wrong reasons. He has always been shadowed by the controversies surrounding him. With careful observation on his cricketing life it would not be hard to notice that he has excelled in more than few aspects of this demanding game. When the man wants to end his story the least we could do is thank him for what he has done to Indian cricket than cursorily dismissing his wonderful contributions. Love him or hate him. You cannot ignore Sourav Chandidas Ganguly.
4 years after his innocuous international debut at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, the Lord's was where he began scripting a glorious career, albeit a dappled one, with a confident display of strokes. For a really long period the cricketing world had witnessed few of the most fluent and dominant shots through the offside. After winning 4 man-of-the-match awards at the Toronto Skating, Cricket and Curling Club against Pakistan there was a point when he seemed insuperable. Numbers were not lying too. He was the quickest to cross 7000, 8000 and 9000 runs in ODIs. Considering that he played in the same era as Sachin Tendulkar did these records were by no means meant to be sneezed at.
He had a keen eye to spot balls that could be hit over mid-on and mid-wicket for huge sixes. His power combined with his flawless footwork made them look very easy. It was this shot making ability that made his ODI partnership with Sachin Tendulkar very destructive for they both were adept at changing gears when necessary. Together they demolished all records previously held by the legendary West Indian opening pair Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. But he was human. Although it took some time, turns out that he too had a chink in his armor. His vulnerability against short-pitched balls was a boon to bowlers from South Africa and Australia. Australians specially exploited this weakness in both forms of the game while South Africa conceded runs, in ODIs, at an average of 50.5 in stark contrast to his test average of 33.82.
In the year 2000 he ascended to captaincy. He saw many a famous victory as a leader. In him India found a stalwart who bloomed with aggression guiding the team by wearing his heart on his sleeve. He was India's most successful captain in the ODIs and tests until Rahul Dravid came along to fill his boots and dethroned him from the former. His most noteworthy achievement in the driver's seat is undoubtedly steering the Indian cricket team into the World Cup 2003 finals. During this campaign he amassed 465 runs but his individual success was not largely recognized due to his 3 centuries, against minnows Kenya and Namibia, which ironically helped him equal Mark Waugh's record of 3 centuries in a single world cup edition. Winning tests on foreign soil was never India's forte. After the series victory against Bangladesh in 2000-2001 Indians seemed to be playing better away from the country than on home soil. It was his aggression that instilled in Team India a sense of self-belief and confidence.
Controversy never got tired of his company. His notorious shirt removing act, in reply to Flintoff's similar antics in India, purportedly spoiled the sanctity of Lord's at the end of the Natwest Series 2002. So be it. The Lord's needed some cleaning anyway. His altercation with Greg Chappell made him the butt of all jokes. His personal decline in the game during captaincy shows that cricket is still a game that carries with it more mental onus than physical. After an interlude he was again brought back in the Indian team but being constantly under the scanner of the selectors must have pulled the last straw. Enough was enough and he decided to call it quits.
Throughout his career he has been in the news for wrong reasons. He has always been shadowed by the controversies surrounding him. With careful observation on his cricketing life it would not be hard to notice that he has excelled in more than few aspects of this demanding game. When the man wants to end his story the least we could do is thank him for what he has done to Indian cricket than cursorily dismissing his wonderful contributions. Love him or hate him. You cannot ignore Sourav Chandidas Ganguly.
posted by Rahul at 4:32 AM
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