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Saurav
Ganguly, the Prince of Kolkata has a fan following of millions
and that is justified considering the number of winning knocks he
has played for India. His batting is the perfect blend of elegance
and power. He has all the traditional style that goes with left
handed batsmanship. He is also a superb/ perfect timer of the ball.
The manner in which he steps out and pounces on the ball, like a
tiger on a hapless prey, is something to be enjoyed on the spot.
He is one of the most aggressive Captain India has ever had and
has emerged as one the key components of the Indian team. His ability
to play shots on the off side is special because there are very
few players who can hit the ball in that area as crisply as he does.
He is an aggressive left-handed batsman and is also an effective
(right-handed) medium pace bowler.
He
started his international career as a 19 year old during the tour
to Australia in 1991-92 where both his ability and attitude was
questioned. His recall for the 1996 tour to England was severely
criticised as one of the evils of India's "quota" system.
But he answered that in style by not only scoring centuries in his
first two Test innings but also capturing vital wickets to bag the
Man of the series award. Still he was considered fit only for the
Test matches because of his inability to
play onside strokes. He worked on that problem and became a household
name in India after the Sahara Cup in Toronto where he won several
matches for India against Pakistan. Besides several superlative
batting performance (including 75* in 75 balls), he exploited the
conditions to return some excellent bowling figures (including 5-16).
He is often criticised for his running between the wickets and if
he works on that, the way he has worked on his leg-side then he
will definitely become a formidable force in the World of Cricket.
Family:
Dad's Name : Chandi Das Ganguly
Wife's Name : Dona Ganguly
Ganguly was born to a life of luxury and comfort as he was the son
of an affluent printer. Ganguly is perhaps one of the richest Indian
cricketer of recent times. Ganguly's father presides over a big
joint family of over 50 people, though they all do not live in the
same house. There are 22 bedrooms in his house, and the family possesses
over 20 cars.
His
first step towards cricket:
Ganguly's first step towards cricket was a happy accident of fate:
Ganguly was not encouraged to play cricket because his parents wanted
him to focus on his studies. But his elder brother Snehasish was
an accomplished cricketer. He was a left-hander so Sourav simply
followed his brother and started playing with left hand. It was
convenient for him because he could thus use his brother's cricket
equipment; for his fans, it was a blessed stroke of luck, for the
joys of the left-handed drive in cricket surpass almost everything
else. One fine day during his holidays, Sourav asked his father
to get him enrolled in a cricket academy as he was finding difficult
to pass his time.
Setbacks:
An under-15 Orissa cricket team happened to be in Calcutta, and
Sourav happened to smash them with a century. Young Sourav had found
his métier. But the pain was yet to come. A hundred (121)
for East Zone against West Zone in the Duleep Trophy in 1991 earned
Sourav a place on the tour of Australia in 1991-92. He was played
in only one One-day International match and was then forgotten for
over four years. He thought that his career as an international
cricketer was over as he was ridiculed as a non-talent, and it was
alleged that he had 'attitude problems'. They said he refused to
carry drinks for his teammates, he was too high-headed and arrogant,
he behaved like a Maharaja, an emperor. None of it was true, says
Sourav. But the labels stuck, and Sourav was a forgotten man. He
was left alone to sort out his career, and to reinforce his shattered
confidence, with some help from an English rugby team sports psychologist.
Success:
But fate had more surprises in store. Sourav was chosen to tour
England with the Indian team in 1996. Navjot SinghSidhu, his roommate
on the tour, chose to walk out of the team after a misunderstanding
with captain Azharuddin, while Sanjay Manjrekar was injured. Sourav
thus got a chance to make his Test debut. There was a crescendo
of criticism on his selection for the tour; that the Bengal lobby
was at the base of his inclusion was the harsh and unanimous verdict.
But all that lasted only till the second Test at Lord's where he
blasted a superb century.
As
a person:
Sourav Ganguly is a quiet, unassuming, undemonstrative man with
nerves of steel. As the current captain of the team, Ganguly's aggressive
batting and big scores testify to the fact that he has learnt to
deal with pressure and the burden of leading the country does not
constraint him. In fact, the responsibility seems to have had an
encouraging effect; he is beginning to emerge from the shadow of
Sachin Tendulkar. Sourav is a deeply religious person and observes
a fast every Tuesday.
His
marriage:
He is married to Dona, who was a next-door neighbour to the Ganguly
family. Their fathers were once friends but the relationship was
strained and the young couple got married under cover. It was a
typical Hindi movie love story where the hero and heroine are separated
by their parents and so they run off to get married. And like the
movie ends their families too reconciled but only in the end i.e.
after the marraige.
His
first love
You all will be surprised to know that 'Football' is Saurav's first
love. He played for his school football team for four years. But
since there were not many opportunities in football, he shifted
to cricket. This shift of game was because of his father, who made
him join a cricket coaching club. His father Mr. Chandi Ganguly
had also played for the state.
His
Secret
Now we will tell you a private habit of your favourite cricketer.............The
first thing Saurav does after he checks into a hotel room is to
place the portrait of goddess Kali and the picture of his wife Dona
on his bed side table. For this Bengal Tiger there is nothing more
relaxing than watching Dona (his wife who is a classical dancer)
perform a dance routine.
Achievements
Ganguly was appointed the Captain of the Indian cricket team in
February, 2000.
Ganguly was the Man of the Series in the New Zealand-India 5 match
ODI series in November 1999. Ganguly made a mammoth 183 against
Sri Lanka in World Cup 1999, which, at that time, was the Highest
ODI Score by an Indian, beating Kapil Dev's Record of 175*. Ganguly
was the Man of the Series in the Pepsi Cup 1999 (March-April) for
scoring 278 runs and taking 6 wickets in total. Saurav Ganguly has
the distinction of being one of the few players in the World to
Score a century and take 4 wickets in the same match. (ODIs) Saurav
Ganguly along with Tendulkar forms the 4th Best Opening Pair in
the History of One-day cricket. Saurav Ganguly and Tendulkar were
involved in a World Record Opening Partnership of 252.
Saurav Ganguly scored a Century on Debut at Lords in 1996, and went
on to score a century in the very next match as well. Saurav Ganguly
was named Sport star Person of the Year 1998. He also won the Arjuna
Award in 1998. Saurav Ganguly was the Highest Run-Scorer for India
in ODIs in 1997. In the Sahara Cup 1997, Saurav Ganguly set a new
World Record for 5 consecutive Man of the Match Awards. He was also
the Man of the Series.
Something
About Ganguly:
" A very challenging and aggressive cricketer from the state
of Bengal in form of a Classy Batsman , good fielder , pretty handy
bowler and all sporting spirit," His aggressive brand of cricket
has set a new trend of aggression that is prevalent among the youngsters,
SEHWAG, KAIF, ZAHEER and YUVRAJ. This aggressive cricket has been
subjected to useless and senseless criticisms by slobs ,such as
BISHEN SINGH BEDI, RAVI SHASHTRI, NAVYOT SINGH SIDHU ( At Times).
Bishen singh Bedi being the usual suspect saying something or the
other using the few english words he possesses in his limited vocabulary."
Mild mannered at heart , good looking and pleasant appearance."
So as we know that Tendulkar to be the best batsmen in India or
so for that matter , the whole world but Saurav Ganguly can easily
be considered one of best left handed batsmen in the Whole globe.Sourav
being the First Captain after 20 years to make us reach the World
Cup Finals. Let us see what more in reserve for Sourav and the great
Indian cricket team...
Source: liveindia.com
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