Video: Sourav Ganguly shows his aggressive side as he instructs waterboy Poomie Mbwanga to leave the field

Sourav Ganguly led the Indian side fearlessly during his tenure as skipper

While current Indian ODI & T20 skipper MS Dhoni is feeling the pressure as he attempts to prevent his side from going further behind South Africa in the ongoing series against South Africa, former skipper Sourav Ganguly is set to begin his new innings as a cricket administrator as the president-in-waiting of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

Ganguly is widely regarded as one of India’s greatest ever captains and is credited with leading a young Indian side out of the dark days following the match-fixing allegations in the early 2000s. He led India to the final of the 2003 World Cup as well as a number of memorable victories overseas.

The words of praise that the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh – two of Ganguly’s most famous proteges – bestow upon their former skipper is proof enough of the love and respect, the Kolkata-born cricketer affectionately called Dada, commanded from his peers.

However, his greatest achievement is considered to be instilling the confidence in the team to go out all guns blazing taking on the opposition without fear. He led from the front with his aggressive no-nonsense approach, including the famous incident in which former Australian skipper, the mighty Steve Waugh, was made to wait at the toss with Ganguly coming in late.

No wonder that Ganguly time and again heaps lavish praise on Test skipper Virat Kohli’s captaincy as he himself is someone who loves to take the fight to the opposition. The Zimbabwe team too found it out the hard way on one occasion in an encounter that is best remembered for one man’s superhuman knock – Douglas Marillier.

In the ODI series opener at Faridabad during Zimbabwe’s tour of India in 2002, Zimbabwe looked down and out needing 65 runs to wins from 34 balls with two wickets remaining. Marillier though shocked the spectators with his innovative shots, including the now famous ‘Marillier shot’ over the short fine-leg fielder, and helped his side inch close to a famous victory.

With 5 runs required from 4 balls, Pommie Mbangwa, who was not in the playing eleven, came onto the field of play carrying drinks and obviously some words of advice from the coaching staff back in the dressing room. Staring at a shock defeat, an already irate Ganguly became furious and ordered Mbangwa to leave the field until the Zimbabwean obliged.

India might have gone on to lose the match, but Ganguly’s aggressiveness drew appreciation from the crowd on the day as well as for the number of years he led the side with aplomb.

Here’s the full video of the incident: