Happy Birthday Sourav Ganguly: His achievements, unknown facts and records
Former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly turned 47 today. A true leader and a brilliant batsman, Ganguly is best known for changing the face of Indian cricket. The manner in which he made India a cricketing powerhouse, after the match fixing scandal had rocked the nation in 2000, remains his biggest achievement. On his birthday, we look at his achievements and unbreakable records.
Legendary Ganguly was a passionate cricketer
Ganguly led the Indian team with a lot of passion. He was aggressive in his approach on the field. He was fearless and strong which inspired young players who blossomed under him. The southpaw had a fighting spirit that worked well for India. He went on to script a lot of success with the bat and was respected by the cricket fraternity all around.
A look at Ganguly's career stats
The batting genius went on to amass 11,363 runs from 311 ODIs and a further 7,212 runs in 113 Tests. He was only the second Indian cricketer to cross 10,000-run mark in ODIs after fellow legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Some fascinating records scripted by Dada
Ganguly's 183 in the 1999 Cricket World Cup is still the highest score by an Indian at the biggest stage. He has 31 Man of the Match awards in ODIs, third highest among Indian players. He is also one of the few cricketers in the world to have scored 10,000 runs, besides picking up 100 wickets and completing 100 catches in ODI cricket.
Ganguly holds this special record at Lord's
The Bengali cricketer was included in the Indian cricket team in the year 1992. But soon Dada was dropped from the side because of his 'attitude' problems. The left-handed batsman made a comeback in 1996 and scored 131 in his debut match at Lord's. This remains the highest score on Test debut at Lord's till date.
Dada was a terrific captain
Ganguly led India in 49 Test matches and had a win percentage of 42.85. He remains one of India's most successful skippers overseas. Dada's special moment as a captain came in 2002, when India won the NatWest tri-series. He drew a series in England and Australia, besides beating Pakistan at their own backyard. Dada also led India to the final of 2003 World Cup.
Ganguly was a true World Cup legend
Ganguly held the record of the most number of tons in a World Cup (2003), before Rohit Sharma broke the same and registered five tons in the ongoing World Cup 2019. Dada is also one of the three Indian players to score 1,000-plus runs in the World Cup. He will always be known as the skipper who changed Indian cricket for good!
