Sourav Ganguly- God of the Offside

Affectionately known as dada, Sourav Ganguly is popularly honoured as Maharaja of Indian Cricket. With a great career in the field, and even as a commentator- Sourav Ganguly has touched many hearts over the years with his godly skills in multiple fields. The dynamic skipper has earned his name in cricket and has won multiple recognitions. Let us know in detail about the grand life of Sourav Ganguly. 

“The battle to win- on the pitch and in the boardroom- begins and ends in one’s head.”

Early Life of Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Calcutta and is the youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly. During his childhood, his family ran a printing business and his father was considered as one of the richest men in the city. Though he was right-handed, Ganguly learned to bat left-handed so he could use his brother’s sporting equipment. After he showcased his skills as a batsman, he enrolled in a cricket academy. 

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Career 

Sourav Ganguly saw very extreme ends from the audience and emphasized the need to be fearless and led by example in this aspect. His actions contributed to some great performances on the fields and relations with players like John Wright proved to be great for India’s tours. He finished his career as India’s most successful captain and led India to a World Cup final in 2003.

Sourav Ganguly started to open the innings with Sachin Tendulkar in ODIs. The duo formed was considered to be the most dangerous opening partnership in ODI cricket history. Ganguly was worked over by the bowlers in the longer format and his deficiency against short-pitched bowling was something that was picked up by bowlers and captains the world over. 

Ganguly went about his batting in a calm manner and ended up as the highest run-scorer in the series. He found his mojo in the ODIs too and his prolific run-scoring in 2007 earned him a place in the highest run-getters of 2007 just behind Jacques Kallis. His ODI performances were on an upswing too after earning a Man of the Series award against Sri Lanka. 

These performances however failed to earn him a spot in the CB series in Australia in 2008 when the selectors opted for a young team with an eye on the future. His form dipped once again as he failed to produce the big scores in a series against Sri Lanka and questions were raised once more regarding his inclusion for Australia’s tour. Sourav Ganguly answered the questions by choosing to retire immediately after the Australia series.

Ganguly still retains his magnetic ability to attract attention much like his playing days. He has also taken a new avatar as a TV analyst and commentator but he remained an active player in the domestic circuit even three years after his retirement and played both in the Ranji Trophy and the IPL with sporadic success until 2012.

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Legacy

Author Pradeep Mandhani commented that in his tenure between 2000 and 2005, Ganguly became India’s most successful Test captain. He led his team to victory on 21 occasions – seven times more than Mohammad Azharuddin with the second-most wins—and led them for a record 49 matches—twice more than both Azharuddin and Sunil Gavaskar. Compared to his batting average of 45.47 when not captain, Ganguly’s Test batting average as captain was a lower 37.66.

Statistics about Sourav Ganguly show that he was the seventh Indian cricketer to have played 100 Test matches, the 4th highest overall run-scorer for India in Tests, and the fourth Indian to have played in more than 300 ODIs.

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Records and Achievements

Being among the top players on the field, Sourav Ganguly has achieved multiple awards for his glorious journey in cricket. Here are a few of the achievements.

• He is the only cricketer to win four consecutive Man of the Match awards in One Day Internationals.
• He is the ninth highest run-scorer in ODI history and third among the Indians, with 11,363 runs.
• He holds the record for the highest individual score by any batsman in an ICC Champions Trophy final.
• He was the first player to score 3 centuries in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy
• He is one of the only six cricketers to have achieved the unique treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets & 100 catches in ODI cricket.
• His Test batting average was always above 40.
• He has the highest individual score by an Indian batsman in the Cricket World Cup.
• He is one of the cricketers in the world to have played 100 or more Tests and 300 or more ODIs.
• He is India’s most successful Test captain overseas, winning 11 out of 28 matches that he led.

That was about the famous and the multi-dynamic – Sourav Ganguly!  Stay tuned to Leverage Edu for more such informative reads and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook!