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Fondly known as Dada, Sourav Ganguly played a key role in revitalizing the Indian cricket team after the match-fixing scandal in 2000. Known to be firm and aggressive as a captain, Dada was also one of the most elegant batsmen of his generation, and is particularly remembered for the flair in his off-drives.
In the backdrop of the recently concluded Pataudi Trophy and Dada’s birthday today, on the 8th of July, let’s look at Sourav Ganguly’s top three Test innings in England.
#3) 128 (167), Leeds 2002
Down 1-0 in the four-match Test series, India won the toss and captain Sourav Ganguly chose to bat first with the intention of taking the game by the horns. What followed next was India’s best Test innings in England in the 21st century to date.
Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid took the team's total to a strong 185-2, and the latter’s partnership with Sachin Tendulkar lifted the score further to an amazing 335-3. As Rahul Dravid departs for a solid 148, Sourav Ganguly walks in to continue piling on the misery of the English bowlers.
Dada teamed up with Sachin on the other end in a left-right partnership to keep hitting the ball across all parts of the ground at an increasingly high run rate. While Ganguly wasn’t particularly uncomfortable against any bowler, he had a particular liking for Ashley Giles, hitting him for 4-6-6-4 in consecutive deliveries of the 170th over of the innings.
Dada’s brilliant inning was wrapped up by an Alex Tudor classic, getting the southpaw bowled. The innings of 128 runs in just 167 balls took the total to a dizzying 584-4, while his partnership with Sachin Tendulkar was worth 249 runs, which was as good as a team total itself.
The Master Blaster finished his innings just seven runs short of a double century, as he was out to Andy Caddick. India declared their first innings at 628-8, not required to bat again as they won the match by an innings and 46 runs.
#2) 136 (268), Nottingham 1996
1-0 down in the three-match series, the Indian batsmen had to step up in the must-win match in Nottingham to draw the series. Choosing to bat first, India tumbled to 7-1 early in the innings, bringing on Lord’s centurion Sourav Ganguly to the crease and requiring him to stabilize the innings once again.
That’s exactly what happened. Nayan Mongia lost his wicket at the team score of 33, and the next wicket was Sourav Ganguly’s, at 288-3, putting up a 255-run partnership for the third wicket with Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 177 runs in 360 balls himself.
While cautious, Ganguly was always on the lookout for the opportunity to score boundaries with every loose ball that came his way, scoring 17 boundaries and two sixes in his 136-run knock.
Fifties from Sanjay Manjrekar (52) and Rahul Dravid (84) propelled India to a strong total of 521. However, the bowlers were unable to show up when it mattered, conceding 564 runs in the English first innings before getting all ten wickets, as the match ended in a draw and India lost the series 1-0.
#1) 131 (301), Lord's 1996
After losing the first test of the series in Birmingham by 8 wickets, India needed to come back stronger in Lord’s and record a memorable performance against the home side to get back in the series.
Captain Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and chose to field in the Home of Cricket, unable to get the English batting all out before they scored a solid 344 in their first innings.
In reply, India found itself at 25-1, following the early wicket of Vikram Rathour. This bought the debutant to the pitch in a pressure situation and required him to steady the ship against the experienced English pace attack.
While the southpaw was able to stand his ground, he lost wickets all around him, with the score reading a concerning 202-5 for the visitors. The loss of the fifth wicket brought Rahul Dravid, the second debutant, onto the crease.
The partnership between Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid is a legendary story, as both modern-day greats found their feet in their very first Test for India on the hallowed turf of Lord’s.
While Rahul Dravid fell short of the three-figure mark by just five runs, Ganguly got his name on the Lord’s Honours board in his debut match with a beautiful square drive. This shot would go on to become a trademark of Sourav Ganguly.
His 131 along with Dravid’s 95 took the Indian total to 429 runs. This gave them a lead of 85 runs. This was not enough to win the Test, however, as the English batting held out to play a draw, keeping their lead of 1-0 going into the third test.
