5 Greatest ODI Knocks of Sourav Ganguly

Fewer people have divided opinion in Indian Cricket like Sourav Ganguly did. What some called charisma, others called arrogance. However, few will argue about his greatness as a captain, and fewer still about his batsmanship, especially in the ODIs. As Rahul Dravid once said, "On the off-side, first there is God, then Sourav Ganguly". On his 46th birthday, let us snatch the time turner and roll back the clock to some of the most glorious ODI knocks of Dada.

#5 98 v West Indies, Nagpur, 2007

This is the only non-century innings in this list, but, perhaps the most important one for Sourav personally. This knock came on the back of the Chappell saga. Having lost his captaincy, and been dropped, Sourav Ganguly made it back to the side, courtesy a truckload of runs in the domestic circuit.

An Indian captain, who had led the team to the World Cup final after a gap of 20 years, had to go back and prove himself in the domestic circles. Yet, Dada, whom some come called egoistic, did that.

And on the first match on his return after 16 months in the wilderness, he showed what a champion he is. Playing his trademark shots through the offside and charging down the track to spinners, Ganguly batted as if he had never left. The cut, the drive, the loft over long off, they were all there. Whatever he touched, turned into gold, and it was as if nothing could touch him.

But alas, his old foe -- the runout returned. A bit of hesitancy, a direct hit, and an imperial comeback knock was cut short two runs short of a well deserved hundred.

#4 127 v South Africa, Johannesburg, 2001

Taming the Lions at their home

This was the first ODI on a tour to South Africa, where India had always struggled. Ganguly lost the toss, and India was put in to bat with Pollock, Nel, Ntini, Kallis, Klusner -- a South African pace attack at its zenith. There was no spinner in the attack.

But nothing seemed to matter to Sourav Ganguly. Pollock had four men in the circle on the off side, and Sourav Ganguly, playing on the up, kept finding gaps through them. Kallis went short, and Ganguly pulled. The result remained the same -- four runs.

The skipper had an answer to all the questions the home team asked -- running down the track to the pacers and lofting them over mid-off, pulling a short one from Makhaya Ntini for a six, and flicking a full one from the same bowler for another six. Sourav Ganguly was on song!

#3 141 v South Africa, Nairobi, 2000

Knocking the defending champions out

Not much was expected out of India when they arrived at the ICC Knockout Trophy in Nairobi in 2000. As expected, they knocked Kenya out in the first game. But, with the quarter-final against world champions Australia, most Indian fans would have thought their campaign is done.

However, a newbie left-hander, who went by the name of Yuvraj Singh, had plans of his own, sending the Aussies packing and setting up a semi-final against the defending champions South Africa.

Ganguly won the toss, opted to bat and out walked the famous opening duo of Tendulkar and Ganguly. The southpaw started off with a punch through the off-side that evaded a diving Jonty Rhodes. Four.

Next, a drive through extra cover. Four. Then, Ntini was driven through the covers. Four. Ganguly kept going through a packed off-side field and kept finding the fence.

Klusner had him caught in the 30th over, only for the umpire to stretch out one arm. No ball. The on-drive, the straight-drive, the slog-sweep, they were all on display, as Ganguly put on an exhibition of champion batsmanship, knocking out the defending champions.

#2 183 v Sri Lanka, Taunton, 1999

The highest score by an Indian at a World Cup

This was another knock against the defending champions. India was going through a tumultuous World Cup campaign, with the team's fortunes swinging like a pendulum. They had beaten the likes of England and Pakistan, but had also lost to Zimbabwe. With the defending champions Sri Lanka next, Sourav Ganguly took matters in his own hands.

His opening partner, Sadagoppan Ramesh, was cleaned up in the very first over and out walked Rahul Dravid to join him. The pair then proceeded to bully the Sri Lankan bowling, much to the delight of a jam-packed Asian crowd at Taunton. Sitting among them, was an eight-year-old Jos Buttler.

The Sri Lankan bowlers sprayed around and the Indian duo capitalized, bring out an array of strokes, and knocking aside records -- a 100 partnership, individual fifties, a 200 partnership, individual centuries, and a 300 partnership.

The runs kept coming and the records kept falling. The Sri Lankans had no place to hide on the small ground in Somerset. The ball kept going into the crowds and beyond.

Dravid finally fell for an incredible 145, but Ganguly kept going. Vaas went for 84, and Upasantha for 80. Even Murali couldn't make an impact. 83 runs came off the last six overs. All this, mind you, was in 1999. When he finally fell, off the penultimate ball of the innings, he had 183 runs and the Indian record for the highest World Cup score to his name.

#1 141 v Pakistan, Adelaide, 2000

Putting Pakistan to the sword

A match-winning knock against Pakistan is very close to every Indian fan's heart, and the same must be true for an Indian cricketer. Scores of them have expressed the tension that surrounds these matches. So, when India met Pakistan in a Tri-Series in Australia, just months after the conflict in Kargil, it must have been no different for Sourav Ganguly.

On one of the poorest Indian campaigns in Australia, against an attack comprising of Akram, Akthar and Razzaq, Sourav Ganguly took the fight to the opposition.

After Tendulkar opted to bat first, Ganguly made the most of the short boundaries, square of the wicket at Adelaide, bringing out his cut shots, square drives, and pulls against the masterful pace attack and the wily spin of Saqlain Mustaq. Rarely has the great Wasim Akram been left so frustrated by a batsman, but it was all Sourav Ganguly that day in Adelaide.

Two weeks after becoming the first Indian to score an ODI hundred in Australia, he added another one to his kitty, propelling India to a convincing win over their arch-rivals.