5 decisions by Dhoni and Ganguly that changed the fate of Indian cricket

Ganguly and Dhoni during Dada's farewell Test
Ganguly and Dhoni during Dada's farewell Test

#3 Ganguly picking Harbhajan Singh in the 2001 Australia series

Harbhajan Singh took 32 wickets in that 3-match series
Harbhajan Singh took 32 wickets in that 3-match series

India were going through a tough period in the early 2000s due to the match-fixing issue. The BCCI was looking for a fresh face to lead the depleted team, and that's when Sourav Ganguly was appointed as the Indian captain.

He completely revamped the team with his own set of players. Yuvraj Singh was the find of the 2000 Champions Trophy, and India ended the tournament as runners-up.

Ganguly kept looking for talents in the domestic circuit. Harbhajan Singh made his Test debut in 1998. And after a two-year gap, Ganguly brought him back to play in the 2001 Test series against Australia.

That turned out to be a masterstroke as the young spinner took 32 wickets in the three-match series. He also became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.

India went on to win the series 2-1 and it turned out to be a big turning point in Indian cricket history.

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