I take this opportunity to put forward the five classic acts of Sourav Ganguly.
As this section doesnot draw a line between one dayers and test match cricket, I will include both of them.
a. 144 against Australia. First Test, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2003-2004
His best knock as a captain. With Australia scoring 323 in the first innings, Ganguly led India (with a little support from other Indian Batsmen, excluding VVS Laxman who scored 75), to score 409 in the first innings which eventually resulted in the test to be drawn - A feat achieved after a long time.
b. 183 against Srilanka. World Cup 1999
Who will forget the low blow that Srilanka suffered at the hands of India. With the score board saying 4/2, Ganguly and Dravid led a huge partnership which helped India to score 373 (India’s highest score till date). Ganguly killed the bowling attack by hitting 7 massive sixes and 17 fours. His score achieved the feat of highest individual score by an Indian in ODI which was soon broken by Sachin Tendulkar.
c. 126 against Pakistan. Dhaka 1998
Who would have expected India to win a match where the opponents already scored 315. With sufficient support from Robin Singh (82), Ganguly ensured that his side win the tournament. He stood firm, stopping the loss of wickets from one end and also scoring runs. It would have been impossible for India to win the match without his innings.
d. 131 against England - First Test Lords 1996
Before the start of the test, the rumour went as ’’A new batsman from Kolkata has been included in the team. It is because of the Bengali quota’’. Ganguly proved everyone wrong by slamming 131 against the fiery attack of England at the Mecca of Cricket - Lords. His big partnership along with newcomer Rahul Dravid was a class to watch.
e. 107 against Kenya - Super Sixes World Cup 2003
People say that Ganguly scored against weak teams in the world cup. I treat his knock of 107* as one of his best. This is because he came at a score of 5/1 when Sehwag got out. Immediately after his departure, Tendulkar got out at a team score of 11/2. The score became 24/3 when Kaif got out. It seemed that a small target of 226 will not be achieved. It was Ganguly who kept his eyes opened to the happennings and kept his cool. Along with some help from Yuvraj and Dravid, he steered India to a victory.
I may be a bit biased as I am an avid Ganguly fan. If you think that my choices are incorrect or I have missed some of his other classic innings, Please give in comments.
Good or Bad - Comments Welcome.