Happy Birthday Dada! Sourav Ganguly’s Glorious Career And Milestones At 51
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New Delhi: Sourav Ganguly , one of the greatest batters and captains in the history of cricket, turned 51 on Saturday. Ganguly made his international debut in 1992 and became known for his bold, fierce personality and stroke play. He was called ‘Dada’ and became the captain of Team India .
He took charge of an Indian team that was struggling with match-fixing scandals in the 2000s and taught them how to win in any conditions. He also backed young cricketers who later became world champions.
He was a master of the off-side and impressed fans with his cuts and drives in that area, earning him the nickname ‘God of Offside’. He played 113 Tests and scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17.
He hit 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries in 188 innings, with a highest score of 239. He is the seventh-highest run-scorer for India in Tests. He scored a century on his Test debut against England at the Lord’s in 1996.
He captained India in 49 Tests and won 21 of them, lost 13 and drew 15. He had a win percentage of 42.85, making him one of the most successful captains for India. In 2001, he led India to a historic 2-1 win over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In that series, India came back from following on in the second Test at Kolkata, thanks to VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid ’s epic partnership. This Test series win is considered as one of India’s best. In 2004, he also led India to an ODI and Test series win in Pakistan. It was India’s first Test series victory on Pakistani soil. India also won the ODI series.
Ganguly also played 311 ODIs and scored 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02. He hit 22 centuries and 72 half-centuries in 300 innings, with a highest score of 183. He is the ninth-highest run-scorer in ODIs and the third-highest run-scorer for India in ODIs. Ganguly is the fourth-fastest to reach 7,000 (174 innings), 8,000 (200 innings) and 9,000 ODI runs (228 innings) and third-fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs (263 innings).
He scored the second highest runs in ODIs in a calendar year in 2000. That year, he played 32 ODIs and scored 1,579 runs at an average of 56.39. He also hit seven centuries and six fifties, with a best score of 144.
He led India to the finals of the ICC Knockout Trophy for the first time in 2000. India and SL also shared the title in 2002 after the final was washed out due to rain. Ganguly’s most memorable moment was when he took off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and waved it, when India beat England in a thrilling chase in the Natwest Trophy final in 2002.
Ganguly also led India to the World Cup final in 2003, where they lost to Australia narrowly.
In total, Ganguly played 424 matches for India and scored 18,575 runs in 488 innings at an average of 41.46. He hit a total of 38 centuries and 107 fifties, with a highest 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 played 21 Cricket World Cup matches and scored 1,006 runs at an average of 55.88. He hit four centuries and three half-centuries, with a highest score of 183. Ganguly also played 13 matches for India in the Champions Trophy and scored 665 runs at an average of 73.88, with three tons and three fifties in 11 innings and a best score of 141*.
Ganguly captained India in 196 matches and won 97, lost 79 and drew 15. His win percentage in international cricket as captain is 49.48. Ganguly also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for four years, with Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India. In 59 matches, he scored 1,349 runs at an average of 25.45.
He scored seven IPL half-centuries, with a best score of 91. But Ganguly’s biggest achievements in cricket are not his numbers as a batter and captain. They are his winning mentality, which taught India how to win and overcome tough conditions/situations and his backing of future stars like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh , Zaheer Khan , Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag , who would win big ICC tournaments for India with their performances.
Two of India’s captains, Dhoni and Virat Kohli learnt some of their traits from Ganguly, such as his leadership skills, aura, winning mentality in any conditions and tendency to support players to perform well and become match-winners. Ganguly not only made Team India ready for any challenge with a talent pool for the future, but also showed how a captain should be.
He took charge of an Indian team that was struggling with match-fixing scandals in the 2000s and taught them how to win in any conditions. He also backed young cricketers who later became world champions.
He was a master of the off-side and impressed fans with his cuts and drives in that area, earning him the nickname ‘God of Offside’. He played 113 Tests and scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17.
He hit 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries in 188 innings, with a highest score of 239. He is the seventh-highest run-scorer for India in Tests. He scored a century on his Test debut against England at the Lord’s in 1996.
He captained India in 49 Tests and won 21 of them, lost 13 and drew 15. He had a win percentage of 42.85, making him one of the most successful captains for India. In 2001, he led India to a historic 2-1 win over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In that series, India came back from following on in the second Test at Kolkata, thanks to VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid ’s epic partnership. This Test series win is considered as one of India’s best. In 2004, he also led India to an ODI and Test series win in Pakistan. It was India’s first Test series victory on Pakistani soil. India also won the ODI series.
Ganguly also played 311 ODIs and scored 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02. He hit 22 centuries and 72 half-centuries in 300 innings, with a highest score of 183. He is the ninth-highest run-scorer in ODIs and the third-highest run-scorer for India in ODIs. Ganguly is the fourth-fastest to reach 7,000 (174 innings), 8,000 (200 innings) and 9,000 ODI runs (228 innings) and third-fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs (263 innings).
He scored the second highest runs in ODIs in a calendar year in 2000. That year, he played 32 ODIs and scored 1,579 runs at an average of 56.39. He also hit seven centuries and six fifties, with a best score of 144.
He led India to the finals of the ICC Knockout Trophy for the first time in 2000. India and SL also shared the title in 2002 after the final was washed out due to rain. Ganguly’s most memorable moment was when he took off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and waved it, when India beat England in a thrilling chase in the Natwest Trophy final in 2002.
Ganguly also led India to the World Cup final in 2003, where they lost to Australia narrowly.
In total, Ganguly played 424 matches for India and scored 18,575 runs in 488 innings at an average of 41.46. He hit a total of 38 centuries and 107 fifties, with a highest 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 played 21 Cricket World Cup matches and scored 1,006 runs at an average of 55.88. He hit four centuries and three half-centuries, with a highest score of 183. Ganguly also played 13 matches for India in the Champions Trophy and scored 665 runs at an average of 73.88, with three tons and three fifties in 11 innings and a best score of 141*.
Ganguly captained India in 196 matches and won 97, lost 79 and drew 15. His win percentage in international cricket as captain is 49.48. Ganguly also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for four years, with Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India. In 59 matches, he scored 1,349 runs at an average of 25.45.
He scored seven IPL half-centuries, with a best score of 91. But Ganguly’s biggest achievements in cricket are not his numbers as a batter and captain. They are his winning mentality, which taught India how to win and overcome tough conditions/situations and his backing of future stars like MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh , Zaheer Khan , Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag , who would win big ICC tournaments for India with their performances.
Two of India’s captains, Dhoni and Virat Kohli learnt some of their traits from Ganguly, such as his leadership skills, aura, winning mentality in any conditions and tendency to support players to perform well and become match-winners. Ganguly not only made Team India ready for any challenge with a talent pool for the future, but also showed how a captain should be.
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