Series Down Under: Ganguly's bravado at Gabba

There is not much difference between the words ‘hope’ and ‘expectation’. The former is a general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled while the latter is a belief that something is going to happen in the future. If one has to make an exhaustive list of connotative words; the name of Sourav Chandidas Ganguly will be lodged somewhere between those two aforementioned words. He was that man with the special ability of converting feelings into beliefs and even though people (most of them in Kolkata) would swear by his batting prowess, he, himself would accept the fact that he could have done much better in some of the overseas tours given his natural authoritative brilliance on field. The hopes and expectations around Dada had always been high but still somewhere at the back of even his staunchest supporter’s heart, there was an expectation when he came on as a captain but only a hope as a batsman.

A magnificent innings

It was somewhere around the first week of December in 2003. India had already finished runners up to Australia in the World Cup and accolades were pouring in from all the corners, especially for captain Sourav Ganguly. India were scheduled to tour Australia for their 4 match test series and as always the tour was heavily hyped. India had never won a test series in Australia before and 23 years had passed by since their last test match victory on Australian soil.

The celebrations said it all

The first test was lined up to be played at Gabba, Brisbane. The pitch had a traditional Australian look to it, it had bounce(plenty of it) and the conditions were conducive for swing bowling. India won the toss and without any hesitation Ganguly opted to field on a juicy track. Australia riding on Langer’s century managed to build up a total of 323, a total which could have been enough for them to even inflict an innings defeat given their dominance during that era.

India were soon in a spot of bother during their reply as they lost Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar in quick succession. From 61/0 India slipped to 62/3 and suddenly the thoughts of a possible follow on started creeping up. The Australians were on a song. Andy Bichel was generating Ambro-esque bounce, Gillespie looked like an escaped vampo-rockstar, too thirsty to be satisfied with only two wickets and Stuart MacGill; well, he was happy enough to be playing in the first place. In the midst of all the hullabaloo, in stepped Sourav Ganguly. Amongst all the qualities that he possessed- stepping down to an occasion definitely didn’t feature on it. His frailties against short pitch bowling and bouncy pitches were well highlighted even before the start of the series.

The fact that he was a great leader was unchallenged but his less than comprehensive batting returns series after series was starting to bother his supporters and the team management alike. An edge through the slip cordon for three runs against Bracken wasn’t the most convincing start to his innings but a glorious cover drive off Gillespie was definitely a sign of things to come. For the first time in his career,Ganguly actually decided to ride on the bounce rather than fending it off from a distance. The bouncers were no longer a trouble, Ganguly caressed all the short pitched deliveries towards the deep square leg boundary and actually managed to turn them into scoring opportunities. His change in technique prompted the bowlers to bowl a much fuller length and what followed was truly a spectacle to behold.

Splendid off front and back foot
	Runs	Balls	Strike-rate
Front foot	83	109	76.15
Back foot	61	77	79.22
Minimal footwork	0	9	-
Stepped out	0	1	-

Ganguly’s ever so majestic- cover and straight drives had re-surfaced again. To say that he put in a tremendous lot of effort in this innings would be a disgrace to Ganguly himself. Such is his pedigree that Ganguly as a batsman looks and performs the best when his strokes are absolutely effortless. His lazy yet elegant wafts through the point and cover region against the likes of Bichel, Gillespie and Bracken got him loads of runs, most of them in boundaries. Whenever the ball was pitched short and outside off, Ganguly didn’t think twice before effortlessly slashing it over the gully region. It was only a matter of time before MacGill came into the attack and if you even have the faintest idea of what happens when an in or for that matter even an out of form Ganguly does to a spin bowler; you can pretty well figure out Ganguly’s scoring patterns. Ganguly’s traditional one and a half step charge to a spin bowler was on display one more time and the swagger with which he scored his first ever international century was on display one more time. It was a sweep with which he achieved the unexpected and the double barreled celebration as soon as he touched down for his second run conveyed the emotions of the man. It was what he had exactly wanted. He had shepherded his team out of danger with his pristine elegance and by the time he perished for a magnificent 144 he had managed to give the his team the first innings’ lead.

A century against the Australians at Australia under difficult conditions is what many batsman may dream of but then you don’t talk about dreams in front of a person who has a debut test century at Lord’s.

Enjoy the innings!!!