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Sourav Ganguly in Bangladesh
I first heard the name of Sourav Ganguly in December 1989. At that time he was representing the Indian U-19 team in the 1st ever Asian Youth Cup held in Bangladesh. The Indian team included names like Vinod Kambli and Ajay Jadeja, (Sachin of course was unavailable as he was in Pakistan with the main Indian team). I however, took a special interest in Ganguly, because he came from our neighboring state of West Bengal.
The great province of Bengal, (during the British Raj), was divided into two parts in 1947; the Eastern part initially joined Pakistan, but then became the independent country of Bangladesh, in 1971. The western part, commonly known as West Bengal, with its main city of Calcutta, is a part of India. Over the years, the state has dominated Indian soccer scene, providing a very large proportion of the country's soccer stars. But, despite the great popularity of the royal game in the region, West Bengal had traditionally been one of the less successful teams in Ranji trophy. Not surprisingly, WB had produced only a handful of India's international cricketers. Pankaj Roy (an opening bat) and Gupte (a leg spinner) enjoyed fairly lengthy spells in the Indian team in the 50's. But, after that 2 other members of the Roy family, Amber and Pranab, failed to establish themselves in the Indian team. More successful players, like, Doshi and Arunlal are non Bengalis, who has settled in Calcutta. While the people of the state, especially those of Calcutta, follow the game passionately, there was always a regret that the city itself had failed to produce a major cricketing icon. Things changed with the arrival of Sourav.
Although, he made his ODI debut in Australia, way back in the 1991-92 season, it was really his century at the Lords, in 1996, that heralded the arrival of the ‘Prince of Calcutta'. 4 years of consistent performance after that saw him gradually make his way towards the national team captaincy. Azharuddin had fallen from grace, Sachin, the great batsman that he was, (and still is), didn't seem the right man for the job. So, the selectors had turned towards Sourav. For, the first time in more than 4 decades, a Bengali became the Indian Cricket team. Pankaj Roy had led India in only one test match, during the disastrous tour of England in 1959. Quite appropriately, Sourav made his captaincy debut at Dhaka, that too, in the historical Match In Nov. 2000, that marked the entrance of Bangladesh in the test arena. Of course, he eventually went on to become the most successful captain in Indian cricket history. In his long and distinguished career, he has been a frequent visitor to Bangladesh. He has been here with the U-19 team, India ‘A' team, his state team, and of course with the Indian national team. Even after his retirement from international cricket, he is still a very familiar figure here (More about that later). In this article, I would be looking at the performances of this elegant left hander in different matches in Bangladesh. While, I will talk about the test matches, and the ODIs, I would also discuss a great deal about his early matches, before he became a regular member of the Indian outfit. This would show that, despite his enormous natural ability, he had to work hard to make his way to the top. There was no easy road to glory for the man from Behala.
Beximco Asian Youth (U-19) Cup: December 1989
During the early December of 1989, Bangladesh successfully hosted the Beximco Asia Youth Cup. This tournament provided our youngsters, like Sumon, or Javed Omar, much needed exposure to international cricket. Moreover, it gave us a chance to look at some of the best young talent at world cricket. Admittedly, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Mushtaq Ahmed were absent, who despite their tender age had already qualified to play for the national teams. Still, there was plenty of talent on view. India got most of the attention, as it included 2 extremely talented top order batsmen, Ajay Jadeja and Vinod Kambli. Less well known was another member of the side, Sourav Ganguly, an elegant left hand batsman and occasional medium pace bowler. India played their first match of the tournament, against the hosts, not at Dhaka, but at Mymensingh, north of the capital. Despite the fact that winter was just setting over the country, (it was the first week of December), it was extremely cold in the northern regions of the country. With the light far from being perfect for batting, Sujon, the home team captain had no hesitation in putting the opposition in after winning the toss. The heavy conditions of the early morning was ideally suited to swing bowling, and the local medium pacers, Anis and Saiful utilized the conditions excellently to put the strong Indian batting line up under pressure. Jadeja fell to Anis, and Kambli ran himself out. So, as Ganguli came to the wicket India was under pressure. Fortunately for young Sourav, the Indian captain Ranjit Bishwal was batting beautifully at the other end. Moreover, the early morning fogs gradually disappeared making batting relatively easier. The 4th wicket stand between Ranjit and Sourav started the Indian recovery which saw them eventually reach 222/9 from 45 overs. Bishwal top scored with 78, Ganguli made 33, and Paranjape provided a late flurry with a quick-fire 28. India eventually won the game by 99 runs. So the Mymensingh crowd was among the first to observe glimpses of Sourav's enormous talents. Unfortunately, for Sourav and his team, he failed to build upon his start in the tournament. A duck in the big game against Pakistan, was followed by knocks of 12 and 18 in the two matches against SL. He didn't get the chance to bat against Malaysia and Singapore, as the top order played with gay abandon against the hapless bowling attacks. To be fair to Ganguli, the wickets were extremely slow and provided plenty of turn for the slow bowlers. (Not surprisingly the Indian left arm spinners Pandey and Paranjape, played leading roles in their lifting the trophy). Even, Vinod Kambli struggled to get a big score despite getting a number of starts. The wickets were more suited to the grafters, rather than the stroke-makers like Sourav. So, Sourav left Dhaka slightly dejected, despite his team winning the cup. He would make a short, but a triumphant return two years later.
West Bengal Cricket Team in Bangladesh: February 1992
In February, 1992, the West Bengal cricket team landed at Dhaka, under the captaincy of Ashoke Malhotra, for a short tour. The team did include a Ganguly, but it was not Sourav, but his elder brother, Snehasish, another top order left handed bat. Sourav, at that time was in Australia, coming towards the end of a disappointing time. Earlier in the season, he was a surprise choice in the main Indian team, ahead of Vinod Kambli, to tour Australia. It was expected to be a big breakthrough for him, but he spent most of the time during the tour in the pavilion. He was overlooked for all the 5 test matches and played just 1 ODI, against WI, at Gabba. There he struggled for 13 deliveries scoring just 3 runs. As the WC approached towards the end of February, there were changes in the Indian team. And, as expected, Kambli returned to the team at the expense of Sourav. Dejected, young Sourav joined the WB team at Dhaka, halfway through the tour. For his state team, the arrival of Sourav was a timely boost. In the first two matches without him, the batting had looked shaky. In the first match against Abahani, a classy 89 by Sourav's elder, Snehasish seemed to have put the tourists on course for a comfortable run chase; but then medium pacer Saiful took 3 wickets in one over, and only a determined hand by the skipper Malhotra (37*), took WB to a narrow 3 wicket win. They were not so lucky against the Mohammedans; leg spinner Wahidul Gani took 4/34 to set up a 3 wicket win, this time for the local outfit.
Sourav first played in the two day, (1 innings 80 over per side match). In his previous tour, Ganguly had to bat in slow pitches and in foggy conditions. Here he was greeted with brilliant spring sunshine and a belter of a wicket. WB had the first chance to bat on perfect conditions; but their openers failed to convert starts into scores. Sourav joined another left hander Raja Venkat at the wicket with the score reading 87/2. He was pretty quiet initially, taking his time to adjust to subcontinent conditions again. Once, he got his timing right, it became a different ball game altogether. Unfortunately for the local side, while their bowling was steady; it lacked the venom required to dismiss a class batsman like Sourav. Soon, Venkat also joined in the party and it became a complete massacre. Overall, Ganguly took 141 deliveries for his 129, Venkat played 187 balls for his 154.Together they took the score to 341, and WB finished their 80 overs at 384/5, a score that was always likely to be out of reach of the local side.
The BCCB fell 82 runs short, but not before their left hand all-rounder Moni produced a splendid knock of 131 on the 2nd day. Perhaps, it was a match for the left handed batsmen. Watching Moni bat on the 2nd afternoon, in glorious early spring sunshine, I couldn't but notice the contrast in the batting styles of Moni and Sourav. Sourav was elegant, and had his game based on driving, especially through the off-side. Moni's batting was based on power, he preferred the mid wicket region, especially against the slow bowlers.
We saw the genius of Ganguly again, on the next day, this time in a 45 over match. The local side did well posting a challenging total of 246/5 from 45 overs. In reply, opener IB Roy (47) and S. Kalyani (70) put WB on course before Sourav provided the finishing touch. His 73* of just 52 deliveries, ensured that there was no late panic for the tourists. Again, he didn't go for the big shots straightaway, taking just singles and twos. The big shots came later. So, the arrival of Sourav from Down Under had disastrous consequences for the hosts, but for the cricket lovers of Dhaka it was an opportunity to enjoy batting of the highest class. Sourav would return to Dhaka, later that year, with the India ‘A' team. But, this time, it would be only a cameo appearance.
1st SAARC Cricket Tournament: December 1992
After making gradual progresses throughout the 80's, Bangladesh cricket could set new targets for the 90's. Most important one was to qualify to play in the WC (which they duly did, but not without a hiccup or two). At this stage, the cricket authority here (BCCB), had to rethink about inviting teams from abroad. During the 80's, we saw teams like Deccan Blues, PIA, MCC, Omar Quareshi XI (led by Imran Khan) come to Bangladesh to play mainly exhibition games. While the stars like Imran brought the crowd to the ground, these matches lacked the competitive edge required. In search of more meaningful opposition, BCCB decided to hold the 1st SAARC cricket tournament in December 1992. While, Bangladesh played their national team, our more powerful neighbors, India, Pakistan and SL sent their ‘A' teams. He Indian team was the strongest, led by left arm spinner Maninder Singh, it included the likes of Sidhu, Kambli, Ajay Sharma, Rajesh Chauhan & of course Sourav Ganguly. Unfortunately the tournament had an abrupt end, due to the political violence erupting in a number of major cities of the subcontinent following the destruction of the Babri Mosque in India.
India had virtually assured themselves with a place in the final with huge victories over Pakistan and SL. But, the match against Bangladesh lasted for only 8 overs before the authorities, quite wisely, decided to cancel the event. Although, the India ‘A' side failed to win the cup, some of their players were rewarded for their excellent performances here. Sidhu earned a recall in the Indian team, as an opening bat (and he remained a mainstay of the Indian team for the remainder of the decade.). Stylish left hander Kambli and off spinner Chauhan made their test debut against England, at the Eden Gardens, in Jan, 1993.For Sourav, though, this was a disappointing affair. He played in all three matches; yet with the top order (Sidhu, Bhave & Kambli) dominating, he never had a chance to bat. He did bowl an over (of gentle medium pace), a forgettable one against Pakistan which went for 13 runs.
So, it was a disappointed Sourav that left Dhaka amidst the late autumn chill.
2nd SAARC Cricket Tournament: December 1994
After a disappointing 1992-93 season, Sourav bounced back to impress everybody again in the 1993-94 season. A string of consistent scores not only helped Sourav regain his confidence; but it also helped his team Bengal reach the Ranji Trophy Final. And although Bengal lost the final, (against much powerful Bombay side), Ganguly impressed everyone with 40 and 88 in a low scoring match. So, when the Indian ‘A' team was announced for tournament in Dhaka, Sourav's name was there. Also included was the name of another middle order batsman trying to make a name for himself; Rahul Dravid.
India were denied 2 years earlier; this time the team led by Pravin Amre won the trophy, despite losing their league game against the Bangladesh side. Sourav, however, was not included in the starting XI for the 3 league matches. He was given his only chance in the final, that too, in the opening position, a position that was unfamiliar to him at that stage of his career. However, missing the first 3 games was in a way, a blessing in disguise for him. The pitches in Dhaka, for this tournament were badly underprepared. Possibly the curator didn't get enough time after the end of the monsoon rain (around October). The slow and low bounce pitches made stroke making extremely difficult for the batsmen of all the sides. Rahul Dravid with his nearly faultless technique was among the very few who scored runs consistently in this tournament. Not surprisingly, the league matches saw a number of low scoring, but exciting matches.
The Final match saw the best bating conditions. And Sourav looked set to make the most of it before he was run out for 39. The Bangladesh bowling had improved a lot over the two years, and both Anis and Saiful got good swing in the early morning conditions. So, initially Sourav was a bit cautious. Once he got his eyes set though, he started to play more fluently. His effort was overshadowed by the match winning knock of 88* by skipper Amre, but it again showed the enormous talent of the man. The India ‘A' team would return during the 1996-97 season to participate in the next SAARC cricket tournament. But this time there would not be any Sourav Ganguly. Following his impressive debut in Test cricket during the summer of 1996, he had quickly become a regular feature of the Indian national team. He would return to Dhaka, during the 1997-98 season, as a star of the Indian team .
Silver Jubilee Independence Cup, January 1998
Sourav started this tri nation tournament slowly, scoring just 11 against Bangladesh, and 13 against Pakistan in the 2 League matches. But, we saw the best of Sourav, in the best of 3 final (against Pakistan), especially in the all important 3rd final. India was the easy winners of the 1st final on 14th January. On perfect batting conditions Pakistan's total of 212/8 (from 46 overs) was never going to be enough; and India eased onto a 8 wicket win with the openers Tendulkar (95) and Sourav (68) putting on 159 for the 1st wicket. Pakistan, however, hit back with a 6 wicket victory 2 days later. India were restricted to 189 all out, despite skipper Azharuddin's valiant 66.Azhar Mahmood dismissed Sachin for 1, but it was the slow left arm bowler, Mohammad Hussain who did the real damage with career best 4/33. Sourav was his first victim, ct. & b. for 26. Pakistan easily reached their target, to set up a classic third final match, two days later.
The weather on January 18th was not perfect for cricket. The weather was unusually heavy for winter, and the light was far from perfect. But, somehow or other the game went on uninterrupted; and the huge crowd that defied the weather saw a classic ODI match between the perennial rivals. The first part of the game belonged to Paks especially to their two batsmen Saeed Anwar, and Ejaj Ahmed. Their 3rd wicket stand of 240 helped Pakistan reach a mammoth total of 314/5. Saeed's 140 took 132 deliveries, Ejaj's 117 just 112 balls. They had contrasting batting styles, Ejaj's game was based on sheer power; Saeed's on soft delicate touches.
As Sachin and Sourav went out to bat after lunch they knew that their team had a mountain to climb. Yet, that's exactly what they succeeded in doing. Sachin started it all, his 41 from just 26 deliveries included 7 fours. It was sublime batting. After his departure, Robin Singh joined Sourav, and the two left-handers combined to take the score to 250/1. Robin fell for 82, but there was no denying Sourav his 2nd ODI hundred. Already a great favorite of the Dhaka crowd, he enhanced his reputation as the ideal opening partner (for ODI games) of Sachin with 124 from 138 deliveries. He hit 11 fours and 1 six. He seemed to have put India on course for a easy win, but the Dhaka crowd would see another twist. The Indian Middle order collapsed badly, and suddenly Pakistan felt a chance in the game again. But, eventually, Kanitkar and Srinath would take India home to a narrow 3 wicket victory. Sourav was the obvious choice for the MOM award; while his opening partner Sachin was adjudged the player of the tournament.
Wills international Cup Oct. 1998
In the QF against Australia, Ganguly missed out, edging fast bowler Kapsrowicz to WK Gilchrist for just 1. This match is best remembered for the brilliant 141 of 128 deliveries by the little master Sachin Tendulkar. In brilliant autumn sunlight, the packed house at the Bangabandhu National stadium was enthralled by the genius of the little Indian. It helped India recover from 2/8 to a match inning score of 307/8. Ganguly did score 83 in the SF against WI, but it was not the usual Ganguly. In fact, he took 116 deliveries for his runs. On brilliant batting conditions, he struggled to find his timing. After the early losses of Sachin and Azhar, he and Dravid put on 70 runs for the 3rd wicket, yet they took almost 20 overs for these runs. Perhaps the inexperience of the two played a part here; they just took things a bit too seriously. India eventually reached 242/6, a score which was never going to be enough on such a placid wicket.
Asia Cup, May 2000
Back in our childhood days, (in the late 70's and early 80's), it would have been almost impossible to think about playing cricket during the heat of May. Cricket in those days was very much a minority sports, our main passion was soccer. The cricket season was mostly confined to the November-February period. Things have changed completely since then, and in May 2000, Dhaka hosted the Asia Cup. Admittedly, the weather did intervene a couple of times, but overall the tournament went on happily. The organizers deserved some credit for their prudence in keeping a reserve day for each match. Here Sourav made his mark in the first match of his side against the hosts. Bangladesh, fully aware of their imminent test status, was keen to impress. Indeed our batsman provided an excellent effort to post a challenging total of 249/6 from their 50 overs. The openers missed out, but the middle order held their own; Bashar (57), skipper Aminul (47), Akram Khan (64) and Naimur (39*) all contributed. Ganguly, bowling gentle medium pacers, was one of the number of Indian bowlers to suffer, he went wicket-less conceding 35 runs from his 4 overs.
Unfortunately for us, the total which initially looked quite challenging; eventually turned to be way inadequate, mainly due to the brilliance of Sourav. His uneaten 135 from 124 deliveries (6 fours, 7 sixes) meant that Indian reached their target with almost 10 overs to spare. Bangladesh captain tried everything, but his resources were limited. Sourav knew the conditions well, certainly better than anyone else in his team, and on this warm day nothing could stop him. Unfortunately, for Sourav and his team, things didn't go well after this initial success. Defeats against SL and Pakistan saw them eliminated from the tournament. Sourav, himself was disappointing, scoring only 13 and 8 runs in these games. Pakistan and SL contest the final, with the Paks taking the honors.
The Big Match: November, 2000 On 10th November, 2000,
Bangladesh made their test debut. In the same test match, Sourav made his captaincy debut for India. India was the odds on favorites, but initially things didn't go according to plans for India. After winning the toss, Naimur Rahman, Sourav's counterpart, had no hesitation in deciding to bat. The wicket was placid, and although the Bangladesh openers fell cheaply, the middle order frustrated the Indian bowlers for a day and a half. Habibul Bashar started it all with a breezy 71, but it was the veteran Aminul islam Bulbul, who stole the show with a patient 145. He batted in the true test match style, defying the Indian bowlers for almost 9 hours. He got support all the way; Akram Khan (35), WK Khaled Mashud (32), all-rounder Rafiq (22) & fast bowler Hasibul (28) all gave him valuable company, as the Bangladesh total reached 400 on the 1st innings.
India started their reply well. There was little venom in the pace atacck, but the spinners asked serious questions from the Indian batsmen. The batsmen seemed to suffer from complacency, too many of them got out after looking set. This gave the chance to the local spinners Naimur and Rafiq to make inroads to the Indian batting line up. When debutant WK Saba Karim was dismissed for 15 (by Naimur), suddenly we saw the Indian's struggling at 236/6. The unthinkable seemed possible at that very moment.
Ganguly at the wicket was joined by another left hander; the all rounder Sunil Joshi. together they started to repair the damages. Their 121 run partnership helped India take a slender lead. Ganguly scored 84, but this was not the flamboyant Sourav we had seen in May. Here, with so much at stake, both for himself and for his country, he batted with great caution. His 153 ball innings only contained five fours. Joshi contributed 92, as India reached 429 all out. A spectacular collapse by the home side in the 2nd knock (all out for 91) saw India win the match by 9 wickets.
3 Nation TVS cup: April ,2003
The TVS cup saw Ganguly in especially good form against the Proteas. On the 13 th, he led from front scoring a quick-fire 75 (of 80 balls).India amassed a massive 307/4, and thrashed their opponents. The South Africans, however, took revenge 4 days later with a 5 wicket win. Ganguly, though, again impressed scoring a fine 61. Unfortunately, a seasonal thunderstorm in the late afternoon ruined the Day-night final on the 21st. India batted for 17.1 overs, to reach 46/3 (with Ganguly 11*) before the washout. The Trophy was shared between the two teams.
India in. Bangladesh: December 2004 India won both the tests very easily. Ganguly scored 78 at Dhaka, and 88 at Chittagong, but his efforts were overshadowed by others'. At Dhaka, Sachin scored 248*, while at Chittagong Dravid, Gambhir & Ashraful all got big hundreds. He didn't do too well in the ODIs, opening the innings with Sehwag. His top score in the 3 match series was 55.
India in Bangladesh: May 2007 All this signs were there that this would be his last tour (as a player) to Bangladesh. Already in his mid-30's Ganguly was now more of an accumulator of runs, rather than a stroke-maker. He was not the captain any more. Ganguly, however was determined not to let emotion take control, and at Chittagong on the 1st match of the series he scored exactly 100. He shared a massive 4th wicket stand with Tendulkar (101). The hunger for runs shown by these two veteran pros must have amazed the young Bangladeshi players. It was an object lesson to them as well. How much India depended on these two masters, became clear, when from 321/3, the team collapsed to 387/8 (Decl.) .
Ganguly, however, missed out in his last test innings against Bangladesh. After, the top 4, Kartik, Jaffar,Dravid, and (of course) Tendulkar all scored hundreds against hapless bowling attack, there was little opportunity for him. He was there for roughly 50 minutes, faced 32 balls, and perished in a bid to up the tempo, ct. by Rajin Saleh, of the bowling of left arm spinner Md. Rafique. He scored just 15 runs. 15 years earlier, the Dhaka crowd saw the emerging talent of Ganguly, when on a glorious spring afternoon he smashed the Bangladesh bowling to all parts of the field. On this warm May day, though, we saw very little of his brilliant stroke-making.
A New Role:
As I stated towards the beginning of this article, Sourav is still a very familiar figure to the Bangladeshi people. That is mainly because nowadays he is quite successfully anchoring the quiz show ‘Dadagiri' in a Calcutta based Bangla channel, available to viewers in Bangladesh. There we find him in a different role. The man who for most part of his playing career, has let his bat do most of the talking, now has to talk almost non-stop for the best part of an hour. And, of course, he was here in Dhaka, last November, starting the 100 day countdown for the 2011 WC. Unfortunately, the inexperience of some of the organizers made the program a bit of a fiasco; nevertheless, no one can find any fault with Ganguly's effort. It looks like his relationship with Bangladesh cricket is set to continue on for a long time to come.
The young and inexperienced man who went out to bat on a cool December morning, at Mymensingh, way back in the late 80's, has come a long long way. He is now an icon, a living legend. Even after his retirement as an international cricketer, he still remains a familiar and hugely popular figure in Bangladesh.
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