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Happy Birthday Sourav Ganguly: The Maharaj of Indian cricket

Sourav Ganguly turns 46 on Sunday.

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly turned 46 on Sunday. 

Dada, as Sourav Ganguly is known as, is one of the finest players and captains in world cricket. 

While he was left-handed batsman of greatest quality and a very-very handy right-arm medium pacer, Ganguly is most remembered for leading India during its most successful exploits. 

 

Sourav Ganguly: The Batsman 

"On the offside, first there is God, then Sourav Ganguly!", said Rahul Dravid once. 

Ganguly's  captaincy may have overshadowed his credentials as a batsman, but he was really a magician with the bat. Whether he was cutting pacers through the off-side or dancing down the track to leg-spinners, Ganguly was a treat to watch. 

The Prince of Kolkata announced his Test arrival in style at the Mecca of cricket as he scored a century at Lord’s in his debut. Ganguly would go on to become the third highest run-scorer for India with 18,575 international runs. He is the 12th highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket history. He is the only ODI player to have won four consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards. Notably, his average never dipped below 40 in Test cricket.

Sourav Ganguly: The Fighter

Ganguly's rise came at the lowest time for Indian cricket. The match fixing scandal had just come to the fore. Ganguly took the reins of the Indian team and restored the faith and love for the game as well as the players. 

Years later, Ganguly himself was at the lowest point in his career in 2005 after the fall-out with the then coach Greg Chappell. He was axed from the side. But Ganguly bounced back again and made a comeback to the Indian team. In 2007, he made 1,000+ runs in ODIs and Tests respectively and was the leading run-scorer (2,346) overall in the calendar year. He was the 'Asian Cricketer' and the 'Asian Batsman of the Year' next year. He finally hung up his boots on his own terms in 2008/09. 

 

Sourav Ganguly: The Mentor

Ganguly is also responsible for giving Indian cricket a plethora of future stars like – Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni who went on to make it big at the international arena. 

He had the knack of unearthing rare diamonds and once he saw something special in a player, he would back him to the hilt and didn’t even hesitate to fight out the selectors for his players. Most of his players justified his faith in them as well. 

Sourav Ganguly: The Captain

Ganguly is one of the best captains India have ever had. His Test record as captain on foreign soil is still the best for any Indian. He led India to the final of 2003 World Cup and won the Nat West trophy.  

But more importantly, Sourav Ganguly changed the way India played cricket. He challenged and changed the notion of Indians as ‘Lions at home and Lambs abroad’. The Indian team under Sourav Ganguly was ready to take on anybody anywhere. Ganguly instilled a sense of belief in the side. 

Ganguly was always ready to fight fire with fire. He was a master at unsettling opponents. He famously made the Australian captain Steve Waugh wait for him at toss during 2001 series. 

 

Sourav Ganguly: The Polariser

There is no bigger polariser in Indian cricket than Sourav Ganguly. His fans may consider him the 'Royal Bengal Tiger' who changed the face of Indian cricket, but there is no derth of his detractors. He is often criticised for being a selfish batsmen. Some have called him uncourteous, stubborn and arrogant as well. He was surely not the most athletic of players Indian have produced. 

However, love him or hate him, you can't imagine Indian cricket without him. 

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