For many, Sourav Ganguly ’s greatest contribution to Indian cricket is his captaincy. Under his leadership, the country saw several player...
For many, Sourav Ganguly’s greatest contribution to Indian cricket is his captaincy. Under his leadership, the country saw several players – including Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh – turn into greats of the game. Ganguly’s never-say-die attitude also instilled a great amount of self-belief in his players and helped the side win crucial matches overseas.
While his ingenuity as a captain will always be remembered, the fact remains that Ganguly is also one of the greatest batsmen India has ever produced. The left-hander played 113 Test matches and 311 One-Day Internationals, scoring 7,212 and 11,363 runs respectively in the two formats.
In ODIs, especially, Ganguly’s legacy is immense. As an opener for India, he was one of the best against the new ball during his time.
There were two things that stood out about Ganguly’s batting – his ability to find the gaps on the offside against pacers and the manner in which he hit spinners for massive sixes.
For Indian fans, watching Ganguly play shots through the off side was one of cricket’s greatest joys. The stylish left-hander could make the ball meet the middle of his bat no matter what the length was or how far the line was – it just had to be on...
