"On off-side,after god there is ganguly"....this is what rahul dravid had once said commenting on a typical sourav ganguly innings.And with impeccable timing,he had his graceful strokes on display for a dozen years.now when the bengal tiger is having his last roar,truly,an era has come to an end....its the end of the dadagiri era...
over these many years,we hav seen various aspects of dada....lets c a few of them.............
DADA THE BATSMEN:with a dream test debut at lords where he scored a century,he had a fairytale start.he then went on to score thousands of runs n many centuries....but ppl know him more as a unique left handed ODI batsmen who can craft the ball through the smallest of gaps or can come down the wicket to a spinner n hit him for a 6....his knack of finding gaps through the off side through graceful cover drives is something that shall always be associated with his batting....more than 11000 runs in ODI,2nd highest no of centuries n MoM awards...these figures speak by themselves the quality of this batsmen...he is arguably the best left hander India has ever produced...
DADA THE CAPTAIN:In 2000 wen the responsibility of Indian cricket was placed on his shoulders,not many knew tat he would change the face of Indian cricket...he built n led 'the magical team India' that made it to the finals of wc 2003...it was during this phase that we broke the 'heroes at home' image and made victory on foreign soil feel a possibility.The 'most successful captain of India' had indeed changed the face of world cricket......
DADA THE BOWLER(only for his fans):though he can never be considered 1,he has taken more than 100 wickets n has always been useful wen the team has looked to purchase a wicket....
DADA THE FIELDER(for his non-fans)wen u would c a batsmen take confident twos,ne1 takin a guess would feel,it would be ganguly...n were right many a times...always a liability on the field,this man has been a subject of mockery many a times...be it in a sarcastic way or a lovable way,the crowd has loved him on the field.....
DADA THE COMEBACK MAN: many ppl around the world from diff professions might know how it feels wen they r asked to prove their worth all over again after serving n being successful for a decade.though many might know wat to do to fight their way back,few would know how to do it.n v few would actually be able to do it.n v v few would be so successful in doin it...and 1 amongst them did something tat would take tremendous will power, gr8 character,sweaty hard work along with testing temperament n perseverance.n all this gets tough wen luck is not on ur side n expectations from millions of fans are.....
under such circumstances,to go back n change his basics(his stance n backlift)after having mastered them for a decade,practice kick boxing(specially from a person for whom fitness never really complimented along),playing for bengal in ranji matches in an empty eden gardens stadium after havin performed in front of jam pack int stadiums(imagine the motivation needed for all this.n if u cant then just compare it with rahul dravid's current body language), takes some guts.
n dada penned down a fairytale comeback.HIGHEST RUN GETTER IN BOTH FORM OF THE GAME COMBINED IN 2007...an achievement perhaps even the gr8est fighters would not be able to attain.his comeback shall always be a highlight of his carrier n shall always be an answer for y should 1 be his fan......................with a century in the final series n a cleanest of innings(85) in his final match justifies his 'going on his own terms' claim....if not officially,at least practically....
DADA has had the last laugh...
the prince of kolkata might show some more of his shots in the IPL,but the country wil miss dada n his dadagiri...........
All this(the praising adjectives used to describe dada n his attributes)might seem like a GRE reco letter(full of over praising) to some....n they r the 1s who hasnt felt tat he deserves this much amount of respect....they hav compared him with other Indian players n hav termed him 'a selfish batsman' or 'a man who ducked many a bouncers' or so on....here's something for them....
-shewag.....it was dada who asked him to open innings for India by sacrificing his own openin position...had he been selfish...................................................
-dhoni......his highest score was 13 in 6 matches wen dada sent him to bat at no.3 against pakistan...he scored 148 n announced himself for ever......
-laxman.....wen India having a follow on,dada sent him at no3 from no 6...n he scored an epic 281 against australia....
-yuvraj,bhajji,zaheer........with all 3 themselves saying tat they are grateful for the strong backing always provided by dada is 1 of the reasons for their confidence n performance,nothin much can be added to emphasize that dada has played a crucial role in the success of these gr8 players....
Be it swing a t-shirt to rejoice the natwest final win,an answer given to England(Flintoff had done the same after winning in mumbai) in England by recording the biggest run chase then..or the vb series victories of so many test victories on foreign soil or the champions trophy or the world cup or highest century partnerships with sachin or higgest 6s or wat not(too many highs to be listed here...honestly) ...he has always been a man with an answer....
In his own words....'he has made many friends n many enemies...all for the betterment of indian cricket'.....
After having served the country for so long with such pride n success,he should be given all the respect a hero deserves...........
A dhoni might replace him as the most successful captain, a yuvraj or a raina might go on to hit countless cover drives,but no 1 will ever replace dada from the hearts of his fans......
He shall never fiss off from ppls memory...he has had a habit of stayin in the limelight...be it for right reasons or wrong....be it good or bad....every1 has an opinion bout him...
so dnt be surprised if u c him again as a coach or a selector or even a POLITICIAN(high probability) ........
whatever be it...ppl wil always remember him....
A handful -as a man who lacked professionalism...
A few -as a cricketer who was an asset that turned liability.............
while many(his fans)-wil remember him every time they c some lefthander hit a classy cover drive,or a down the wicket 6,or some captain like dhoni think out of the box n take a brave decision,or c some1 swing a tshirt with aggression,or do anything of his sort,and u will hear his fans say in their minds.....
'MAN...HE JUST DID A SOURAV GANGULY'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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