5 times when Sourav Ganguly bullied the opposition

Sourav Ganguly warns Russell Arnold not to run on the pitch

There are no two ways about the fact that Sourav Ganguly is one of the greatest captains the Indian team ever had. What speaks about his greatness more than his captaincy stats is the way in which he transformed the attitude of the team and changed the way the cricket is played in the country for good.Cricketers from India had a history of keeping their mouths shut even in the face of sledging, but since Ganguly took over as skipper, he taught them how to give the opposition a taste of their own medicine. And as we saw several times in his career, Sourav led from the front in this regard.Here are a few such instances where ‘Dada’ went on to bully the opposition:

#1 Altercation with Russell Arnold

Sourav Ganguly warns Russell Arnold not to run on the pitch

Player who got bullied - Russell Arnold

The final of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy showcased one of the famous instances of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly bullying the opposition. Sri Lanka were batting first and during the mid-overs southpaw Russell Arnold dabbed a ball on the off side and set off in an effort to complete a single but had to return to his crease.

In the process, Arnold was guilty of running on the pitch and this was pointed out by then Indian wicketkeeper Rahul Dravid who approached the batsman. This led to Ganguly’s intervention and he was quick to let the batsman know that he could not tamper with the pitch by running on the danger area. An argument ensued between the two and there are no prizes for guessing who was more vocal.

Senior umpire David Shepherd, who was officiating in the match, had to barge in as he separated the two players. But the Indian skipper continued to give Russell Arnold a piece of his mind from the position where he was fielding.

#2 Making Steve Waugh wait at the toss

Sourav Ganguly annoyed Steve Waugh by arriving late for the toss

Player who got bullied - Steve Waugh

During the epic 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sourav Ganguly engaged in bullying of a different sort against the former Australian captain Steve Waugh. Ganguly gave his opposite number a hard time by arriving late for the coin toss prior to the match.

Although the former Indian skipper admits to have done this only once in the series, Waugh has claimed that he did it at least four times, if not more. However, irrespective of how many times Sourav Ganguly did it, it was the remarkable audacity he showed in making a senior statesman like Steve Waugh wait for a coin toss to happen which makes an iconic moment from his collection.

#3 Stuart Broad gets a taste of Sourav Ganguly

Dada was never one to back down from a duel

Player who got bullied - Stuart Broad

England fast bowler Stuart Broad paid the price for rubbing Sourav Ganguly the wrong way during an ODI match in 2007. It had been a closely fought series and India were down 2-3 after 5 matches in the 7-match series and England had put a formidable total in excess of 300 on the board.

In a do-or-die situation, the two best batsmen in the ODI team, Tendulkar and Ganguly, raised their hand up and took the mantle to give the team solid start. It was clear that the impeccable start that the Indians had got to was not going down well with the England bowlers, particularly Stuart Broad, who kept on getting at Sachin who did not care to respond.

Unfortunately, Broad made the mistake of indulging with the former Indian skipper and suffered for it as Sourav Ganguly tore into Broad, first verbally and later with the bat as well. It was Dada who had the last laugh in the confrontation as Broad was taken off two overs later, even though Broad eventually got him out on 53.

#4 Mohammad Yousuf draws the ire of Ganguly

Yousuf Youhana had earned the wrath of Dada when his cramp time-out convinced Ganguly that it was a time wasting tacti

Player who got bullied - Mohammad Yousuf

There were several occasions during Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy stint when he had to suffer due to slow over rates. The consequences included docking of match fees and even being suspended for a match or two. So he tended to get cross whenever someone from the opposition became the reason for eating up time in the middle.

One such situation came during an ODI between India and Pakistan in 2005 where batsman Mohammad Yousuf, then known as Yousuf Youhana, was the object of Ganguly’s disgust. Yousuf was suffering from cramps and at one point, he seated himself on the ground as he requested the umpires for a runner.

Ganguly, who was standing nearby, did not hold back in reminding the Pakistan batsman that repetitively he was wasting time and he better hurry up, even as the umpires had a discussion with him. It was one of the popular instances of Sourav Ganguly bullying his opponents.

#5 The Ganguly-Warne face-off in the IPL

Even Shane Warne suffered Sourav Ganguly’s wrath

Player who got bullied - Shane Warne

The inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008 transformed into a battleground for two stalwarts of the game, Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne. As both their teams collided for the first time in the world’s most popular T20 tournament, temperatures ran high, particularly between the two skippers.

Sourav Ganguly was leading the Kolkata Knight Riders from the front in a daunting chase when a lofted shot from him was caught by Graeme Smith of the Rajasthan Royals, but neither of them were convinced about it being a clean catch. Sourav requested the umpires to refer the decision to the TV umpire, who ruled in favour of the batsman and due to this Warne had some words to say to the former Indian skipper.

Dada was up for it and retaliated with a few words of his own leading to an argument. The battle carried on after the match as well as Warne criticized Ganguly for not complying with the spirit of the game. In turn, Sourav suggested that Shane Warne is the last person who should comment on the spirit of the game.

This was another example of Sourav Ganguly’s famous trait of bullying the opposition.

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Edited by Staff Editor