Sourav Ganguly fans ecstatic over comeback

KOLKATA: An air of jubilation pervaded the city as Sourav Ganguly made a perfect comeback to the one-day international team and giving a fresh spurt to the clamour among his fans for reinstating him as Indian cricket captain.

Since Ganguly crossed the half century mark, fans were either seen shouting 'three cheers for Sourav' or sending sms' to friends. As Ganguly got out at 98, the enjoyment was not totally unalloyed however; it gave a fresh spurt to the clamour for reinstating him as the Indian cricket team's captain.

"India will win the World Cup only if Sourav is the captain; it is as simple as that," said former first class cricketer and cricket coach Raju Mukherjee.

"A fifteen month hiatus from one-day internationals has only bolstered his hunger for runs and Dada will make the difference in India's World Cup quest," said Monotosh Roy, an 82-year-old avid cricket fan, who appeared as confident as Ganguly was in the crease at Nagpur this morning.

But a large section of the city's fans had to be content with seeing live scores on news channels and not the action at Nagpur owing to failure by a number of cable operators to beam 'Neo Sports', which is telecasting the match.

Angry cricket fans could be seen in front of cable TV offices in different parts of the city. "Our cable operator's office is closed and his mobile is switched off. He is going to lose business due to this. We have several options to choose from," said SB Chatterjee, who was waiting anxiously to see some of the live action.