FAREWELL THE PRINCE OF KOLKATA

The Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly has announced his retirement from all forms of the game. A decision that I felt came a touch too late especially after he wasn’t picked at the IPL auction earlier this year. However, it does not take away anything from the man who bought winning attitude and fighting spirit in Indian Cricket. He and his legacy will remain with the Indian team and its fans.

I didn’t realize what a phenomenon Dada was till he was dropped from the team in the year 2005. There were protests all over Bengal and some other parts of India. People were furious at this move by the coach and selectors and were out to criticize the management. Meanwhile, away from all this he was scripting his comeback with some great performances in domestic cricket. An ODI was held at Kolkata at that time and the crowd jeered Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell indicating their displeasure. The support that Sourav got from the fans was absolutely unbelievable. That just showed what an impact the man had on the fans.

My earliest memory of Sourav Ganguly is his match winning hundred in the Independence Cup at Dhaka. As a seven year old, it was about the time I started to understand the game and recognize players apart from Sachin and Azhar. I still remember him struggling with cramps but still fighting to get India home against a strong Pakistan bowling attack. Chasing 300 today is difficult let alone 1998 but we got home when Kanitkar cut Saqlain Mushtaq for four. That was the first of his ODI centuries and this just established him as a mainstay in India’s ODI batting line-up. Since then he never looked back.

Many players provide people with moments that are restricted to the field but Sourav gave us moments not just on the field but even off it. Who can forget him taking his shirt off at Lords after the famous win in the Natwest Series final. It showed that India had a captain who did not care what people said and believed in expressing himself. In interviews, press conferences he was always outspoken, ready to voice his opinion and this sometimes got him into some trouble. This attitude rubbed off on a team that was considered poor travelers. It instilled a belief that they could stand up to any opposition, anywhere and beat them. This new found belief worked immediately as India started winning test matches overseas after he became captain. One moment that people don’t remember is his hundred at Brisbane against Australia. Some said he was a suspect against short pitched bowling, some said he cannot play well in Australia. He answered with a brilliant 144 and his reaction after he got his hundred is memorable. This again set the tone for the rest of the tour and India ended up drawing the test series against Steve Waugh’s mighty Australians. He could also get under the skin of the other team. Steve Waugh and Shane Warne would vouch for that. The 2001 series was a turning point in Indian cricket and it was largely due to the captaincy that got the best out of the star performers like Laxman and Harbhajan. Dada would make Steve Waugh wait for quite a while before a toss and hence mind games started from there itself. I even remember him telling Graeme Smith to tell Dale Steyn to be quite as the later was sledging Yuvraj Singh. He called Smith to the centre of pitch and raised one finger and told him what needed to be done. That is dada-giri for you.

What I am saying is that his attitude was a kind of a catalyst that the team needed. When it comes from the captain it is even better. I would say that Ganguly led from the front when it came to motivating his players not just by talk but by example. He laid the foundations for India to be number one in test cricket. We had good players before he became captain but he got the best out of them with the confidence he showed in them. He backed his instincts when it came to choosing youngsters in the squad. Players like Yuvraj, Kaif, Zaheer, Sehwag etc. were picked under his captaincy and flourished under him. The youngsters got the confidence that is needed when they step in to the international arena. He taught the players how not to be intimidated by the other team in any situation. In the Indian scenario he redefined what a captain should do.

Rahul Dravid had said that on the off side first there is god and then Sourav Ganguly. We won’t be able to see those cover drives of the front and back foot anymore. I don’t think anybody played those shots more gracefully than him. Coming back to the Natwest final in 2002, a lot of people tend to forget his contribution. He did what he did best i.e. blaze the off side. That innings of sixty was filled with boundaries through point and cover. I still remember him charging down the wicket to hit the fast bowlers over point and extra cover. He got out attempting a shot on the on side and his displeasure was apparent almost saying “You were amazing through the off side…should have played those shots itself and take India home yourself.” The innings at Brisbane that I mentioned was also filled with cover drives. The best part was that the Australians were bowling that line hoping for him to edge it to the slips but he just drove them on the rise through the off side. Apart from his off side play nobody would forget how ruthless he could be to the spinner. Down the track and bam…that was the formula.

I think his finest hour came when he made a comeback after being dropped in 2005. He was more hungry, more dependable and even better against the short ball. The ouster from the team got the best out of and some of his best knocks were played in his final two years in the international arena. He was one of the few successful batsman in the tour to South Africa in 2006. His 239 was one of the best rescue act I have seen in test cricket. Every knock in this phase signified determination and that is what defined him.

When it comes to qualities, he is far ahead of others in fighting spirit. He had the fire in his belly to prove people wrong. We saw that when he was captain but in the manner in which he made his comeback. This shows exceptional fighting spirit and we saw it again in the third season of the IPL when he stunned people with his fielding something which he wasn’t renowned for. The last season of the IPL may have tempted him to stay longer but from the outset I felt he should have called it a day. All that doesn’t matter as Sourav Ganguly will always be remember for what he has done in the past for India and not for the recent events. Thanks Sourav, thanks for everything. You not only taught the team how to win but you taught us how to fight and emerge victorious in life. I wish you and your family all the happiness.

SOURAV’S TOP KNOCKS

TESTS
1. 239 vs Pakistan at Bangalore: At fifty or sixty odd for four he pulled off a magnificent recovery in the company of Yuvraj Singh. In the process he gt to his first double century.
2. 87 vs South Africa at Kanpur: India were trailing 1-0 in the series coming into this match and need something special. On a misbehaving track he stuck out 87 against a menacing pace attack.
3. 144 vs Australia at Brisbane: at sixty odd for four it looked like the story of the 1999 tour to Australia would repeat but he had other intentions.
4. 51 vs South Africa at Johannesburg: Helped India get a vital first innings lead which helped them to bag their first test win in the Rainbow Nation.
5. 129 vs England at Headingly: On a seaming track he and Tendulkar butchered the England bowling after Rahul Dravid laid a solid platform. India won that match by an innings.

ODI
1. 124 vs Pakistan at Dhaka: The thriller at Dhaka which no Indian fan would forget. Need I say more.
2. 183 vs Sri Lanka at Taunton: India needed to win this match to stay alive in the 1999 World Cup. He and Rahul Dravid mauled the Sri Lankan spinners. Even Murlitharan took a beating.
3. 60 vs England at Lords: Natwest Final, I think the innings was an even bigger highlight than his act on the balcony.
4. Sahara series in Toronto: These matches were owned by him.

Comments are welcomed. Please tell me if I have missed out any of his top knocks…..