Top 5 Cinderella stories in sports this decade

1) Sourav Ganguly – 2006-07

Sourav Ganguly celebrates his century against Pakistan in December 2007

Following a string of disappointing performances with the bat from 2004 to 2005, erstwhile skipper Sourav Ganguly was dropped unceremoniously, from the Indian cricket team.

Written off by numerous experts, he refused to bow out and continued to perform at the domestic level, thus paving the way for a call-up when the national side needed him again.

On December 2006, Ganguly returned to international cricket with a half-century in South Africa that helped India recover from a measly 37/4 to win the 1st Test. Though India lost the series, ‘Dada’ finished as the highest scorer for India with 214 runs from 3 matches.

On his ODI comeback in January 2007, against West Indies, Ganguly scored 98 runs which proved to be match-winning. Next, he was adjudged Man of the Series against Sri Lanka which made his selection for the Indian World Cup squad inevitable. In India’s forgettable 2007 World Cup show, the most number of runs had come off Ganguly’s bat.

Scoring 1106 runs at an average of 61.44, Sourav Ganguly was the second highest run-getter in Tests, in 2007, behind only to South Africa’s Jacques Kallis. The exemplary determination with which he resurfaced in world cricket and went on to rule the scorecards till his retirement in 2008 will not be forgotten by cricket-lovers anytime soon.