Sourav Ganguly

Infobox cricketer biography
playername = Sourav Ganguly

---

country = India
fullname = Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
nickname = Dada, Prince of Kolkata, Bengal Tiger, Maharaja
living = true
dayofbirth = 8
monthofbirth = 7
yearofbirth = 1972
placeofbirth = Calcutta, Bengal
countryofbirth = India
dayofdeath =
monthofdeath =
yearofdeath =
placeofdeath =
countryofdeath =
heightft = 5
heightinch = 11
batting = Left-handed
bowling = Right arm medium
role = Batsman
family = Snehasish Ganguly (Brother)

international = true
testdebutdate = 20 June
testdebutyear = 1996
testdebutagainst = England
testc

lasttestdate = 8 August
lasttestyear = 2008
lasttestagainst = Sri Lanka
odidebutdate = 11 January
odidebutyear = 1992
odidebutagainst = West Indies
odic

lastodidate = 15 November
lastodiyear = 2007
lastodiagainst = Pakistan
odishirt =

club1 = Bengal
year1 = 1989/90–2006/07
clubnumber1 =
club2 = Lancashire
year2 = 2000
clubnumber2 =
club3 = Glamorgan
year3 = 2005
clubnumber3 =
club4 = Northamptonshire
year4 = 2006
clubnumber4 =
club5 = Kolkata Knight Riders
year5 = 2008–present
clubnumber5 =

deliveries = balls
columns = 4
column1 = Tests
matches1 = 109
runs1 = 6,888
bat avg1 = 41.74
100s/50s1 = 15/34
top score1 = 239
deliveries1 = 3,117
wickets1 = 32
bowl avg1 = 52.53
fivefor1 = 0
tenfor1 = 0
best bowling1 = 3/28
catches/stumpings1 = 71/–
column2 = ODI
matches2 = 311
runs2 = 11,363
bat avg2 = 41.02
100s/50s2 = 22/72
top score2 = 183
deliveries2 = 4,561
wickets2 = 100
bowl avg2 = 38.49
fivefor2 = 2
tenfor2 = n/a
best bowling2 = 5/16
catches/stumpings2 = 100/–
column3 = FC
matches3 = 237
runs3 = 14,540
bat avg3 = 43.66
100s/50s3 = 30/83
top score3 = 239
deliveries3 = 10,920
wickets3 = 164
bowl avg3 = 36.66
fivefor3 = 4
tenfor3 = 0
best bowling3 = 6/46
catches/stumpings3 = 166/–
column4 = List A
matches4 = 423
runs4 = 15,161
bat avg4 = 41.53
100s/50s4 = 31/93
top score4 = 183
deliveries4 = 7,949
wickets4 = 168
bowl avg4 = 38.41
fivefor4 = 2
tenfor4 = n/a
best bowling4 = 5/16
catches/stumpings4 = 129/–

date = 11 October
year = 2008
source = http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/2/2023/2023.html CricketArchive

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly ( _bn. সৌরভ গাঙ্গুলী) (audio|Sourav_Ganguly.ogg|pronunciation) (born 8 July 1972) is an Indian cricketer, and former former captain of the Indian national team. He is India's most successful test captain to date, winning 21 his 49 test as skipper [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/india/6250454.stm] and leading India into the 2003 World Cup finals. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/individual/most_matches_as_captain.html?class=1;id=6;type=team Performance of India's Test Captains] ] An aggressive captain, Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him/ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2870000/newsid_2870400/2870451.stm] [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031112/sports.htm]

The left-handed Ganguly is a prolific One Day International batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit. [http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/04/stories/2005080411102100.htm] 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. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/india/7656850.stm] ] cite web
url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/content/player/28779.html
title=Cricinfo - Players and Officials - Sourav Ganguly|publisher=content-ind.cricinfo.com|accessdate=2008-05-19]

Early life

The youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly, Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Kolkata. His father ran a flourishing print business and was one of the richest men in Kolkata. He had a luxurious childhood and was nicknamed the Maharaja.cite web|url=http://www.souravganguly.net/biography.htm|title=SouravGanguly.net - Biography|publisher=www.souravganguly.net|accessdate=2008-05-19|last=|first=] Though he was asked to concentrate on his studies and not play cricket, he was inspired to do so by his brother Snehasish Ganguly, an accomplished left-handed batsman for Bengal. Though he was acutally right-handed, he batted left-handed so that he could use his brother's equipment.cite web|url=http://www.liveindia.com/cricket/SGanguly.html
title=Sourav Chandidas Ganguly|publisher=www.liveindia.com|accessdate=2008-05-19] After he showed some promise as a batsman, he was enrolled in a cricket academy. An indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket was built at home for him and his brother, and he would often watch cricket videos, especially those of David Gower, his hero.cite web|url=http://sify.com/sports/cricket/fullstory.php?id=13193085
title=Extract from `Sourav: A biography`|publisher=sify.com|accessdate=2008-05-19
last=Ezekiel|first=Gulu] After he scored a century against the Orissa U-15 side, he was made captain of the prestigious St Xavier's School's cricket team. His stint there was controversial as several of his teammates complained against his arrogance. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/wisdencricketer/content/story/221919.html|title=Cricinfo - The Awkward XI|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-22|last=|first=]

International career

Debut and early career

Following a prolific Ranji season in 1990-91, [cite web|url=http://ind.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1990-91/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/STATS/IND_LOCAL_RJI_AVS_BENG.html|title=Ranji Trophy Statistics: 1990-91|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-22 He scored 394 runs@78.80 and took 14 wickets@39.71 in 6 matches] Ganguly made his One Day International debut for India against West Indies in 1992, and scored just 3 runs. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/engine/match/65487.html|title=Cricinfo - 9th Match: India v West Indies at Brisbane, 11 January 1992|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-22] He was dropped immediately since he was perceived to be "arrogant" and his attitude to the game was openly questioned.cite web|url=http://im.rediff.com/cricket/2005/aug/03fact.htm|title=Factbox on Sourav Ganguly|publisher=im.rediff.com|accessdate=2008-05-22] He toiled away in domestic cricket, scoring heavily in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons [cite web|url=http://ind.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1993-94/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/STATS/IND_LOCAL_RJI_AVS_BAT_MOST_RUNS.html|title= Most Runs in Ranji Trophy in 1993-94|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-23] [cite web|url=http://ind.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1994-95/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/STATS/IND_LOCAL_RJI_AVS_BAT_HIGHEST_AVS.html|title=Highest Batting Averages In Ranji Trophy in 1994-95|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-23] Following an innings of 171 in the 1995-96 Duleep Trophy, [cite web|url=http://ind.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/1995-96/IND_LOCAL/DULEEP/WEST_EAST_DULEEP_20-24OCT1995.html|title=West Zone v East Zone at Nagpur, 20-24 October 1995|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-23] he was recalled to the national side for the tour of England in 1996 amidst intense media scrutiny. He played in one ODI, [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/65019.html|title=Cricinfo - 3rd ODI: England v India at Manchester, May 26-27, 1996|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24] but was omitted from the team for the first test. However, after Navjot Sidhu left the touring party citing ill-treatment by the capatin Mohammed Azharuddin, [cite web|url=http://ind.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1996/IND_IN_ENG/ARTICLES/IND_UNDERDOGS_06JUN1996|title=India start as Underdogs|publisher=The Daily Mail|accessdate=2008-05-23|last=|first=] made his Test debut at Lord's alongside Rahul Dravid, in what was umpire Dickie Bird's last test. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/engine/match/63714.html|title=Cricinfo - 2nd Test: England v India at Lord's, June 20-24, 1996|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-23] He scored a century, becoming only the third cricketer to score a century on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but his 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at Lord's. [cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;debut_or_last=1;filter=advanced;ground=10;orderby=high_score;runsmin1=100;runsval1=runs;template=results;type=batting
title=Statsguru - List of test centuries on debut at Lord's|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-19] In the next Test match at Trent Bridge he made 136, thus becoming only the 3rd batsman to make a century in each of his first two innings (after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran). He shared a 255 run stand with Sachin Tendulkar, which became at that time the highest partnership for India against any country for any wicket outside India. [cite web|url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63715.html|title=Cricinfo - 3rd Test: England v India at Nottingham, July 4-9, 1996|publisher=content-www.cricinfo.com
accessdate=2008-05-19|last=|first=]

Opening in ODIs

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 this involved 250+ stands with Sachin Tendulkar.

In January 1998, he had one of his most memorable performances 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 beat Australia his biggest impact came in Calcutta as he took three wickets having opened the bowling with his medium pace.

In the 1999 World Cup Ganguly smashed 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton, 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.

In 1999/00 India lost 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 PwC One Day Ratings for batsmen. [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/90432.html PwC Ratings: Ganguly claims Number One spot] ]

Ascension to captaincy

In 2000, after the match fixing scandal Ganguly was named the captain of the India team. In the Champions Trophy of that year he scored 2 centuries but his second in the final was in vain as New Zealand won by four wickets.

In 2003 under his captaincy India reached the World Cup Final, where they lost to the Australians.

While he has achieved significant success as captain, his individual performance deteriorated during his captaincy, especially after successes in the World Cup, the tour of Australia in 2003 and the Pakistan series in 2004. Following indifferent form in 2004 and poor form in 2005, he was dropped from the team in October 2005. He remained active on the first-class cricket scene in hopes of a recall, but his performance was a mixed bag - he hit a couple of centuries in domestic cricket, but his English county stint in 2005 and subsequent appearances in the Challenger Trophy were failures.

In 2004, he was awarded the Padma Shri.

His older brother Snehasish Ganguly played first-class cricket for Bengal.

Ganguly's international cricket career could be bisected into 2 halves, the pre and the post Y2K eras. The significance of the year 2000 lies not only in the fact that he became the captain of the Indian team but also in the fact that the International Cricket Council introduced the one bouncer per over rule in ODIs starting from that year. This introduction of the rule by the ICC had a negative impact on Sourav Ganguly's batting average, which plunged from a high 45.5 before the year 2000 to a low 34.9 between the 5 year period of 2001-2005. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=player;playerid=2024;class=odiplayer;filter=advanced;team=0;opposition=0;notopposition=0;homeaway=0;continent=0;country=0;notcountry=0;groundid=0;season=0;startdefault=1992-01-11;start=2001-01-01;enddefault=2005-09-06;end=2005-09-06;tourneyid=0;finals=0;daynight=0;toss=0;scheduledovers=0;scheduleddays=0;innings=0;followon=0;result=0;seriesresult=0;captain=0;keeper=0;dnp=0;recent=;viewtype=bat_summary;runslow=;runshigh=;batposition=0;dismissal=0;bowposition=0;ballslow=;ballshigh=;bpof=0;overslow=;overshigh=;conclow=;conchigh=;wicketslow=;wicketshigh=;dismissalslow=;dismissalshigh=;caughtlow=;caughthigh=;caughttype=0;stumpedlow=;stumpedhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype ODI Batting - Career summary] ] Also, against Test playing nations (which included Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), his overall average plunged further down to 30.66, as did his 'away' average which fell to 29. He managed to score only (6) centuries between 2001-2005, of which 3 centuries were against Kenya & 1 was against Namibia. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=player;playerid=2024;class=odiplayer;filter=advanced;team=0;opposition=0;notopposition=0;homeaway=0;continent=0;country=0;notcountry=0;groundid=0;season=0;startdefault=1992-01-11;start=2001-01-01;enddefault=2005-09-06;end=2005-09-06;tourneyid=0;finals=0;daynight=0;toss=0;scheduledovers=0;scheduleddays=0;innings=0;followon=0;result=0;seriesresult=0;captain=0;keeper=0;dnp=0;recent=;viewtype=aro_list;runslow=100;runshigh=;batposition=0;dismissal=0;bowposition=0;ballslow=;ballshigh=;bpof=0;overslow=;overshigh=;conclow=;conchigh=;wicketslow=;wicketshigh=;dismissalslow=;dismissalshigh=;caughtlow=;caughthigh=;caughttype=0;stumpedlow=;stumpedhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype ODIs - Innings by innings list] ] This sudden drop in his batting average against Test playing nations after 2001 was clearly a result of the short pitched bowling he had to encounter from opposition bowlers. As S.Rajesh, the assistant editor of Cricinfo analyzes, Ganguly has been dismissed numerous times fending off the short ball. [ [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/218158.html Ganguly's short-ball woes] ]

Also, Ganguly's Test career had been riddled with lean patches, the first of which stretched for 3 years from December 1999 to December 2002, [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=player;playerid=2024;class=testplayer;filter=advanced;team=0;opposition=0;notopposition=0;homeaway=0;continent=0;country=0;notcountry=0;groundid=0;season=0;startdefault=1996-06-20;start=1999-12-26;enddefault=2006-02-01;end=2002-12-22;tourneyid=0;finals=0;daynight=0;toss=0;scheduleddays=0;scheduledovers=0;innings=0;followon=0;result=0;seriesresult=0;captain=0;keeper=0;dnp=0;recent=;viewtype=bat_summary;runslow=;runshigh=;batposition=0;dismissal=0;bowposition=0;ballslow=;ballshigh=;bpof=0;overslow=;overshigh=;conclow=;conchigh=;wicketslow=;wicketshigh=;dismissalslow=;dismissalshigh=;caughtlow=;caughthigh=;caughttype=0;stumpedlow=;stumpedhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype Test Batting - Career summary] ] during which his batting average fell to 31.77 in 36 consecutive Test matches over 60 innings. The next biggest lean patch of his career occurred after the 2003 World Cup, when his ODI average fell to 28 and this was when his place in the team was questioned by numerous Indian cricket fans. He averaged 24.95 in 25 ODI matches between August 2004 and September 2005, [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=player;playerid=2024;class=odiplayer;filter=advanced;team=0;opposition=0;notopposition=0;homeaway=0;continent=0;country=0;notcountry=0;groundid=0;season=0;startdefault=1992-01-11;start=2004-08-01;enddefault=2005-09-06;end=2005-09-07;tourneyid=0;finals=0;daynight=0;toss=0;scheduledovers=0;scheduleddays=0;innings=0;followon=0;result=0;seriesresult=0;captain=0;keeper=0;dnp=0;recent=;viewtype=aro_list;runslow=;runshigh=;batposition=0;dismissal=0;bowposition=0;ballslow=;ballshigh=;bpof=0;overslow=;overshigh=;conclow=;conchigh=;wicketslow=;wicketshigh=;dismissalslow=;dismissalshigh=;caughtlow=;caughthigh=;caughttype=0;stumpedlow=;stumpedhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype ODI Batting - Career summary] ] before being finally dropped from the ODI side.

It was, however, as captain of the Indian team that Ganguly's biggest achievements occurred. He led India in 49 Test Matches, winning 21 of those, including 12 of them outside India. All three figures are records for Indian Test captains. He also led India to their first series wins in both Tests and ODIs in Pakistan, a feat that had eluded India for over 50 years. Ganguly also led India to more Test wins (12) outside India between 2000 and 2005 than all Indian captains had done between 1980 and 2000. He led India to victory over Steve Waugh's Australia in the 2001 Border-Gavaskar trophy which is considered one of the greatest in Indian cricket history.

Rahul Dravid once commented, "On the off-side, first there is God, then there is Ganguly”.

Comeback

Following India's poor batting display in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 [cite web
url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/team/6.html?class=2;filter=advanced;orderby=start;season=2006%2F07;template=results;trophy=44;type=team;view=innings
title=Cricinfo Statsguru - India - Champions Trophy 2006 - Team analysis|publisher=Cricinfo
accessdate=2008-05-24] and the ODI series in South Africa, in which they were whitewashed 4-0, [cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/team/6.html?class=2;home_or_away=2;opposition=3;season=2006%2F07;template=results;type=team;view=innings
title=Cricinfo Statsguru - India Vs. South Africa 2006-07 - Team analysis|publisher=Cricinfo
accessdate=2008-05-24] Ganguly made his comeback to the test team. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/rsavind/content/story/270425.html|title=Cricinfo - Ganguly in, Laxman appointed vice-captain|publisher=cricinfo.com|accessdate=2008-05-24]
Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had earlier been selected for the one-day squad, [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/rsavind/content/story/266230.html|title=Cricinfo - Jaffer, Zaheer and Kumble added to ODI squad|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24] in what was seen as an indictment of coach Greg Chappell's youth-first policy. [cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/241962.cms|title=Raina's inclusion a big surprise|publisher=The Times of India|accessdate=2008-05-24|last=Kris|first=Srikkanth] Coming in at 37/4, he scored 83 in a tour match against the Rest of SouthAfrica, modifying his original batting style and taking a middle-stump guard, [cite web|url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/272255.html|title=Exorcising the demons|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24|last=Alter|first=Jaime] an innings that set up a victory for India. [cite web|url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/249209.html|title=Tour Match: Rest of South Africa v Indians at Potchefstroom, December 7-9, 2006|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24] In his first test innings since his comeback, against the Proteas 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. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/rsavind/engine/match/249215.html|title=1st Test: South Africa v India at Johannesburg, December 15-18, 2006|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24] Though India went on to lose the series, he topped the run scroing charts for his side. [He had a series aggregate of 214 runs@ 42.80cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=2753;type=series|title=India in South Africa Test Series, 2006/07 - Most runs|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24]

After his successful Test comeback he was recalled for the ODI team, as India played host to West Indies [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvwi/content/story/276198.html|title= Sehwag out, Ganguly picked for ODIs|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24|last= Vasu|first= Anand] and Sri Lanka [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvsl/content/story/278695.html
title=Cricinfo - Sehwag and Munaf back for SL series|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24|last=Vasu|first=Anand] in back to back ODI tournaments. In his first ODI innings in almost 2 years,cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28779.html?class=2;template=results;type=allround;view=match|title=Cricinfo Statsguru - SC Ganguly - One-Day Internationals|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24] he scored a matchwinning 98. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvwi/content/story/277080.html|title=Cricinfo - India edge past despite Chanderpaul's masterclass|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24|last=Vaidyanathan|first=Siddarth] He performed creditably in both series, averaging almost 70 [cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/28779.html?class=2;spanmax1=17+Feb+2007;spanmin1=21+Jan+2007;spanval1=span;template=results;type=allround;view=innings
title=Cricinfo Statsguru - SC Ganguly - One-Day Internationals - All-round analysis
publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24] and won the Man of the Series Award against Sri Lanka. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvsl/content/story/280709.html|title=Cricinfo - Ganguly happy with World Cup preparations|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-24]

2007 World Cup and aftermath

Following his good performance, Ganguly was named in the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He was the leading scorer for India in their first round defeat against Bangladesh. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/statsguru/content/story/285701.html|title=Cricinfo - Brilliant Bangladesh stun India|publisher=Cricinfo
accessdate=2008-06-01|last=Vaidyanathan|first=Siddhartha ] After India were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, there were reports of a rift between certain members of the Indian team and their coach Greg Chappell. Ganguly, allegedly, ignored instructions from the team management to score quickly. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/288609.html|title=Cricinfo - BCCI faces its toughest challenge|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-06-01|last=Vasu|first=Anand] After Sachin Tendulkar issued a statement saying that what hurt the team most was that "the coach has questioned our attitude", Chappell decided not to renew his contract with the Indian team. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/australia/content/story/288804.html|title=Cricinfo - A controversial reign|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-06-01|]

On 12 December 2007, Ganguly scored his maiden double century of his career while playing against Pakistan in the first innings of the third and final test match of the series. He was involved in a 300 run partnership for the 5th wicket along with Yuvraj Singh - a much needed partnership that saved India which was struggling at 61 for the fall of four wickets. He later went on to score 239 before being dismissed by Danish Kaneria.

On 18 April 2008, Ganguly led the Kolkata Knight Riders team owned by Shah Rukh Khan in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match to a 140 run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers led by Rahul Dravid and owned by Vijay Mallya. Ganguly opened the innings with Brendan McCullum and scored 10 runs while his partner Brendan McCullum remained unbeaten blasting his way to a record 158* runs in 73 balls. On 1 May in a game between the Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, Ganguly made his highest score of the season and his second T20 half century, scoring 51 runs off of 39 balls at a strike rate of 130.76. In his innings, Ganguly hit four 4s and two sixes, topping the scorers list for the Knight Riders.

Ganguly has been prolific in both Test and ODI cricket in the year 2007. He scored 1106 Test runs at an average of 61.44 (with three centuries and four fifties) in 2007 to become the second highest rungetter in Test matches of that year [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=1;id=2007;type=year Most Runs in Test Matches in 2007] ] after Jacques Kallis. He is the fifth highest rungetter in 2007 in ODIs, [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=2;id=2007;type=year Most Runs in One-Day Internationals in 2007] ] where he scored 1240 runs at 44.28.

Retirement from International Cricket

On October 7th 2008, Ganguly announced that the test series against Australia starting in October 2008 would be his last [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/other_international/india/7656850.stm] ] and stated "To be honest, I didn't expect to be picked for this series."

Playing Style

Sourav Ganguly is a left-handed batsman whose runs come primarily from the off-side. Throughout his career, he has played off-side shots such as the square cut, square drive and cover drive with elegance and complete command. Early in his career he was not comfortable with the hook and pull, often giving his wicket away with mistiming such shots. He was also criticized for having difficulty in handling short pitched balls and bouncers, notoriously exploited by the Australians and South Africans. However, after his comeback in 2007, he has worked upon these weaknesses to a large extent. He can hit powerful shots to the off-side on front and back foot with equal ease.

In One Day Internationals, where he usually opens the innings, he tries to take the advantage of fielding restrictions by advancing down the pitch and hitting pace bowlers over extra cover and mid-off. He is also notorious for attacking left arm spin bowlers. Due to excellent hand-eye coordination, he picks the length of the ball early, comes down the pitch and hits the ball aerially over mid-on or midwicket, often for a six. However, he has a weakness in running between the wickets and judging quick singles. There have been many instances where Ganguly's batting partner has been run out due to Ganguly's calling for a run, and then sending him back while halfway down the pitch.

Ganguly is a right arm medium pace bowler. He can swing and seam the ball both ways and often chips in with useful wickets to break partnerships. Despite not being very athletic as a fielder, Ganguly has taken 100 catches in one-day Internationals.

Controversies

County Cricket

Ganguly's County cricket career in England was not a success. In "The Wisden Cricketer" [http://content-www.cricinfo.com/wisdencricketer/content/story/295629.html] it was described as follows: "The imperious Indian - dubbed 'Lord Snooty' - deigned to represent Lancashire in 2000. At the crease it was sometimes uncertain whether his partner was a batsman or a batman being dispatched to take his discarded sweater to the pavilion or carry his kit bag. But mutiny was afoot among the lower orders. In one match Ganguly, after reaching his fifty, raised his bat to the home balcony, only to find it deserted. He did not inspire at Glamorgan or Northamptonshire either. At the latter in 2006 he averaged 4.80 from his four first-class appearances."

The Chappell - Ganguly controversy

His dispute with then coach Greg Chappell resulted in many headlines during 2005 and early 2006. Greg Chappell emailed the BCCI stating that Ganguly was unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Eventually due to his poor form and differences with the coach he was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the team. However, 10 months later, during India's tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form.

hirt take-off at Lords

During the final match of the 2002 Natwest Trophy held in Lords after a stunning performance by team mates Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, Sourav Ganguly took off his shirt in public and brandished it in the air to celebrate India's winning of the match. He was later strongly condemned for tarnishing the gentleman's game image of cricket and disrespecting Lords protocol. Ganguly said that he was only mimicking an act performed by the English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a tour of India.

Other controversies

Ganguly is an aggressive player and has often attracted controversy. He has attracted the wrath of match referrees quite a few times, the most severe of which was a ban for 6 matches by ICC match referee Clive Lloyd for slow over rates against Pakistan and therefore his tour to Sri Lanka for the Indian Oil Cup 2005 was uncertain. These circumstances led to Rahul Dravid being made captain for the tour. Later, Justice Albey Sachs reduced the punishment from 6 matches to 4, and this permitted Ganguly to join the team, but as a player and not captain. In his opening match he made the highest score of the side (51) taking (110) balls [http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/OD_TOURNEYS/IOC/SCORECARDS/IND_SL_IOC_ODI4_03AUG2005.html] . He was again named captain for the Zimbabwe tour of August-September 2005. With this, he has captained India in the highest number of Tests (49).

During the 2003 World Cup final against Australia, Ganguly won the toss and decided to field. This decision raised eyebrows but Sourav remained confident that there would be moisture on the pitch that would help his bowlers, however the bowlers flopped and Sourav performed poorly with the bat. India went on to lose by 125 runs, a staggering defeat.

Ganguly's performance in the last couple of seasons has been really poor. This put his place in the Indian team under pressure. In the tour of Zimbabwe, in which he was newly reinstated as skipper, Ganguly ground out a painfully slow century, against what is regarded as one of the weakest bowling attacks in international cricket. During the match he told reporters that newly-appointed coach Greg Chappell had asked him to stand down as captain - a comment which Chappell later played down. However, forty-eight hours after saying that he respected the Indian captain and looked forward to working with him in the future, Chappell sent an [http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/220105.html email] to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Both Ganguly and Chappell were summoned to a BCCI board meeting in which they agreed to work together for the good of the team. Rahul Dravid was appointed captain for the series against Sri Lanka and South Africa after Ganguly was not selected for the opening games due to injury. When the two series got over, Rahul Dravid was asked to continue as skipper.

On 22 November 2005, Ganguly stepped down as captain of Bengal cricket team after being replaced as captain of the Indian Test team. He played in the first two Test matches in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka. However, on 14 December, he was controversially dropped, for the third Test at Ahmedabad, to make way for Wasim Jaffer, an opening batsman for Mumbai. Jaffer was picked by the selectors as they wished to build up a player selection pool with sufficient experience to succeed at international level.

Despite this, he retained his A-grade contract from the BCCI, in December 2005.

Following the drop, fans blocked roads and railway tracks in Kolkata, burning effigies of chief selector Kiran More and Indian coach Chappell, and the urban development minister of West Bengal, Asoke Bhattacharya, said Ganguly was a victim of the internal politics of the BCCI. [ [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/229692.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Protests follow Ganguly's axing] ] Cricinfo editor Sambit Bal wrote in a commentary that this was "in all probability ... the end of the road for him." [ [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/229570.html A poignant end] ] However, it was announced on 25 December 2005 that he was selected as part of the Indian team to tour Pakistan. Kiran More cited his experience as the key reason, with Mohammed Kaif being dropped. [ [http://www.tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/642993 Ganguly gets India recall] ] He was in the playing XI in the Lahore and Karachi Tests, but was dropped for the Faisalabad match. He was unable to play in the England home series and the West Indies tour. He was also not selected for the following Tri-series in Sri Lanka. However, he was chosen amongst 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy after being left out in the dark for almost close to a year. Ganguly failed in the Challenger Trophy, however, managing less than 30 runs in two games, and so the chances of recall to the ODI side look bleak.

Ganguly later sent an email hitting out at his one time mentor saying that Jagmohan Dalmiya did not deserve to become CAB president as he had played with his career and that Ganguly was a victim of internal politics within the BCCI. This was in the backdrop of the CAB elections which Jagmohan Dalmiya won.

Records

Ganguly is the seventh Indian cricketer to have played 100 Test matches. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/individual/most_matches_career.html?class=1;id=6;type=team Indian Cricketers: Most Test Matches] ] He is currently the 4th highest overall run scorer for India in Tests. [ http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?class=1;id=6;type=team Indian Cricketers: Most Test Runs] ] He is the fourth Indian to have played in more than 300 One Day Internationals. [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/individual/most_matches_career.html?class=2;id=6;type=team Indian Cricketers: Most One-Day Internationals] ] In terms of overall runs scored in ODIs, Ganguly is the second among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar (who has the highest ODI runs in the world) and the fourth in the world. [ http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/83548.html Most Runs in Career: One-Day Internationals] ] Ganguly has scored 15 centuries in Test matches and 22 in ODIs. He is one of only seven batsmen to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. [cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/83548.html|title=Cricinfo - Records - One-Day Internationals - Most runs in career|publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-22] Ganguly has 22 centuries in ODIs, in terms of number of centuries in ODIs, he is only behind [ [http://stats.cricinfo.com/india/content/records/282935.html One-Day Internationals:Most hundreds in a career] ] Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Ricky Ponting. Sourav, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed by far the most successful opening pair in One Day Cricket, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored more than 7000 runs at an average of 48.98, now with Sachin he is a world record holder for creating most no. of 50 run partnership in the first wicket(44 fifties). [ [http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/Matches/MatchTopOpeners_ODI.asp Opening Pairs with an Aggregate of 1000 Runs or more] ]

Ganguly is the fourth player to cross 11,000 ODI runs and third player to cross 10,000 ODI runs and so far the fastest in ODI history, after Sachin Tendulkar. He also reached 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 ODI runs milestones in the fewest number of matches. Sourav can bowl medium-pacers as well, but has under-achieved in this aspect in Test matches, taking 31 wickets in 99 matches, at an average of 52.47. As of 2006, he is the only Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan (although two of the three tests of that series was led by Rahul Dravid). He is also one of the 3 players in the world to achieve amazing treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODI cricket history, the others being Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Test

*Captained India in a record 49 Test matches [cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?captain=1;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=matches;team=6;template=results;type=batting
title=Cricinfo Statsguru - Test matches - Batting records|publisher=stats.cricinfo.com|accessdate=2008-05-19]
*Led India to a record 21 Test wins [cite web|url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?captain=1;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=matches;result=1;team=6;template=results;type=batting
title=Cricinfo Statsguru - Test matches - Batting records|publisher=stats.cricinfo.com|accessdate=2008-05-19]
*His test average has never been less than 40. [cite web|url=http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/351736.html|title=Cricinfo - Maintaining high standards
publisher=Cricinfo|accessdate=2008-05-23|last=Basevi|first=Travis]

ODIs

*Hold the record of most 200+ ODI partnerships (6 times) along with Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
*Holds the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for most 1st wicket ODI partnerships of 175+ runs (7 times).
*Holds the record, shared with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the second highest score by an Indian cricketer in an ODI — 183, against Sri Lanka in 1999.
*Held the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for the highest first wicket partnership for India in an ODI match, 258, against Kenya in 2001. This record was bettered by Sri Lankan opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tharanga in 2006 at Headingley.
*Was involved in the first 300 run ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid.
*Sixth on the all time list with 31 man of the match awards.
*He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive man of the match awards in ODIs.
*India's most successful ODI captain.
*First Indian to score an ODI century against Australia in Australia.
*Highest ODI runs scorer in the world (in a calendar year) in 1997,1999,2000.
*Third in the list of hitting maximum number of sixes in ODIs.
*Second in the list of highest number of centuries in a single calendar year ever. 7 centuries in 2000.

Man of the Series awards

3 Awards in Test cricket

31 Awards in ODI

References

External links

* [http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/PLAYERS/IND/G/GANGULY_SC_06002024/ Cricinfo Player Profile: Sourav Chandidas Ganguly]
* [http://statserver.cricket.org/guru?sdb=filter;playerid=2024;class=odiplayer/ Cumulative Career Averages]
* [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/STATS/ODIS/BATTING/FASTEST_ODI_CAREER_RUNS/ Fastest To Reach Multiples]
* [http://www.sportingo.com/saurav-ganguly/6,1706 Sourav Ganguly News Articles]