3 similarities between birthday boys Sourav Ganguly and Devon Conway

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly and New Zealand opener Devon Conway are celebrating their birthday on Saturday, July 8.

While Ganguly turned 51, Conway is now 32. A legend of Indian cricket, Ganguly played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, scoring 7212 and 11363 runs, respectively. On the other hand, Conway has featured in 16 Tests, 18 ODIs, and 38 T20Is, scoring 3,370 international runs.

While Ganguly notched up 16 hundreds and 35 fifties in the red-ball format for India, he smashed 22 hundreds and 72 fifties in ODIs, forming a formidable opening pairing with Sachin Tendulkar. He was a decent medium-pace bowler as well, picking up 32 scalps in Tests and exactly 100 in ODIs, including two five-fers.

Looking at Conway’s numbers, the Kiwi southpaw has four hundreds and eight fifties in Tests so far and three tons and as many half-centuries in ODIs. As for T20Is, he has registered nine half-centuries. While Ganguly could contribute with the ball, Conway can keep wickets when needed.

Apart from sharing their birthdays, there are a few other similarities between Ganguly and Conway. Here’s a look:

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#1 Both Ganguly and Conway registered three figures on their Test debut at Lord’s

Sourav Ganguly scored a memorable hundred on his Test debut at Lord’s. (Pic: Getty Images)

This is the biggest similarity between Ganguly and Conway. Both batters made their Test debut against England at Lord’s and notched up three figures.

Four years after a forgettable ODI debut, Ganguly was handed his Test cap in June 1996. And what a debut it was!

England batted first in the Test at Lord’s and put up 344 on the board. In response, India notched up 429 in 169.3 overs as Ganguly top-scored with a superb 131 off 301 balls, announcing his arrival on the big stage in ‘princely’ fashion.

Batting at No. 3, the left-hander struck 20 fours in his 435-ball knock, which ended when he was knocked over by Alan Mullally.

Ganguly featured in a 94-run stand with fellow debutant Rahul Dravid (95 off 267 balls) in a match that ended in a draw. The former captain scored another hundred in the next Test of the series at Trent Bridge.

Conway also scored a hundred on debut against England at Lord’s in June 2021 and went on to convert it into a double century.

New Zealand batted first after winning the toss and the left-handed batter top-scored for the team with 200 off 347 balls. He struck 22 fours and a six in a team total of 378.

Like Ganguly’s debut Test, this match also ended in a draw. Conway missed out on emulating Ganguly as he was out for 80 in his second Test match at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

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#2 Timing over brute force

Devon Conway notched up a double hundred on Test debut at Lord’s. (Pic: Getty Images)

Great timing over power-packed strokes is another quality Ganguly and Conway have in common.

The former Indian captain was often referred to as the ‘God of the off-side' for his ability to pierce the gaps with precision courtesy of some serenely timed strokes. Few have made a name with their glorious off-side stroke play to the extent that Ganguly has.

Conway does not look as graceful as the Indian legend when he bats. However, like Ganguly, he too relies more on timing than power to score his runs. And when it is his day, he can score as quickly as anyone who can pack a punch with the willow in hand.

There is a flip side to the story as well, though. Because Conway is heavily reliant on his timing to score runs freely, he looks completely out of rhythm on days when the ball does not meet the face of the bat.

There have been instances when he has struggled in the very next game after notching up a big score in commanding fashion. A similar trait was observed during Ganguly’s career as well, where he would go from looking graceful with the bat to utterly shabby.

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#3 Both have their highest IPL score in the 90s

Sourav Ganguly (left) playing for KKR and Devon Conway (right) batting for CSK. (Pics: Getty Images)

This might change in the future, and most probably will. For now, though, both Ganguly and Conway have their highest IPL score in the 90s.

Ganguly, who played 59 IPL games, registered his highest score of 91 for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Deccan Chargers (DC) in Hyderabad in May 2008.

KKR batted first in the match and Ganguly smashed 91 off 57, smashing 11 fours and five sixes. Kolkata put up 204/4 on the board. The skipper also claimed 2/25 with the ball as KKR beat DC by 23 runs.

Conway, meanwhile, registered his highest IPL score of 92* for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) during the 2023 edition in match number 41 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

CSK batted first and Conway top-scored for the side, striking 16 fours and a six in his 52-ball knock.

Thanks to the left-handed batter's wonderful knock, CSK posted 200/4. The performance came in a losing cause as Punjab chased the target off the last ball.

Like Ganguly in 2008, though, Conway also walked away as the Player of the Match for his fine effort.