Sourav Ganguly

DADA

Sourav Ganguly(DADA:KOLKATA EXPRESS)

A former Indian test cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. As of October 2008, he was India's most successful Test captain to date, winning 21 tests out of 49 tests he captained^[1] and leading India into the 2003 World Cup finals.^[2] An aggressive captain, Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him.^[3][4]

The left-handed Ganguly was a prolific One Day International batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit.^[5] Despite ODI success, his Test place was often lost to younger players towards the later stages of his career. On October 7 2008, Ganguly announced that the Test series against Australia starting that month would be his last.^[6][7] Ganguly played his last first-class match on 21 December 2008.

In 1997 Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century, opening the innings he scored 113, in his side's 238, against Sri Lanka. Later that year he won four consecutive man of the match awards in the Sahara Cup with Pakistan, the second of these was won after he took 5/16 off 10 overs, his best bowling in an ODI. After a barren run in Test cricket his form returned at the end of the year with three centuries in four Tests all against Sri Lanka two of these involved stands with Sachin Tendulkar of over 250.^{[citation needed]}

In January 1998, in the final of the Independence Cup at Dhaka, against Pakistan, he scored 124 as India successfully chased down 315 off 48 overs, winning the Man of the match award. In March 1998 he was part of the India team that defeated Australia, his biggest impact came in Calcutta as he took three wickets having opened the bowling with his medium pace.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1999 World Cup Ganguly scored 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton, Somerset in England. The innings took 158 balls and included 17 fours and 7 sixes. It is the second highest in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest ever in the World Cup and is the second highest in all ODI cricket.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999/00 India lost Test series to both Australia and South Africa in the five Tests. Ganguly struggled scoring 224 runs at 22.40, however his ODI form was impressive, with five centuries over the season taking him to the top of the One Day Ratings for batsmen.

Comeback

Following India's poor batting display in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006^[32] and the ODI series in South Africa, in which they were whitewashed 4-0,^[33] Ganguly made his comeback to the Test team.^[34]Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had earlier been selected for the one-day squad,^[35] in what was seen as an indictment of coach Greg Chappell's youth-first policy.^[36] Coming in at 37/4, he scored 83 in a tour match against the Rest of South Africa, modifying his original batting style and taking a middle-stump guard,^[37] an innings that set up a victory for India.^[38] In his first Test innings since his comeback, against South Africa in Johannesburg, he scored 51 in a low scoring game, an innings that helped India win a Test match in South Africa for the first time.^[39] Though India went on to lose the series, he topped the run scroing charts for his side