Sourav Ganguly AKA Dada, made his debut in the Indian team back in 1992 and has changed the face of cricket ever since. He became one of the best captains for India and built a team that reached newer heights. Other than being a great captain, he was also a brilliant batsman and a good pacer as well who could dazzle us with his bowling from time to time. In this article, we list Sourav Ganguly’s best batting and bowling performances.
Sourav Ganguly’s Best Batting Performances
1.) 124 v/s Pakistan, Silver Jubilee Independence Cup, 1998
Chasing a huge total of 314 put up by Pakistan on the back of Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed’s centuries, Dada showed his magnificence and hit 124 runs which proved to be a match-winning knock. Dada gave India the start they needed for a record-highest chase at the time. Arguably this got to be one of the most iconic India-Pakistan matches and one of the most memorable India win in the 90s. The victory was sealed in the end by Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s four which is etched in the memory of cricket fans from that generation.
2.) 144 v/s Australia, GABBA Test, 2003
One of the most memorable India-Australia test series is the 2003 India tour of Australia. In the first match of the series in Brisbane, India was in a spot of bother when Ganguly came in, and Ganguly’s batting record against Australia wasn’t good either. That’s when Ganguly played a crucial knock of 144 that helped India draw the match at GABBA. This was Dada’s maiden century on Australian soil and set the tone for the rest of the series. During this knock, the Australians targeted Ganguly’s ribcage and his vulnerability towards the short ball but they weren’t expecting a counter-attack from the Indian Captain. For this knock Ganguly got the Man Of The Match Award and allowed India to start the series on a winning note
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“Brisbane was a crucial Test to set the tempo for the rest of the series. It conveyed to Australia in no uncertain terms that we weren’t going to be pushovers.”
Waugh wrote: “After Brisbane, we also had to recognize that this wasn’t the usual soft-underbelly Indian touring squad, but rather a hardened force forged by Sourav Ganguly, their feisty leader.”
“The Australians, as a part of their well-planned strategy, always targeted the rival captain, But I had made up my mind even before fastening the seat belts on the flight that I was going to attack before they realized what had hit them. The Australians were so used to killing opponents in the first Test of the series that they were a little taken aback by our counter-attacking. I could see that in their body language while I raced towards my first Test hundred on Australian soil.”
– Sourav Ganguly
3.) 183 vs Sri Lanka, 1999 World Cup
In the 1999 World Cup match between defending champions Sri Lanka and India, India were asked to bat first. And batting, they did beautifully. Losing their opener Sadgoppan Ramesh in the very first over, Ganguly decided to destroy the bowling attack and hit 183 runs and hit 7 sixes. He was supported by ‘The Wall’ himself – Rahul Dravid who along with Ganguly put on a 300-run stand for the 2nd wicket which was the first ever 300 partnership stand in ODIs. India ended with a huge total of 373 runs their then-highest in ODIs and won the match by a huge margin of 157 runs.
4.) 141* vs South Africa, ICC Knock Out Cup, 2000
In the Semi-final match of the Knock Out Cup between India and South Africa, Ganguly played a brilliant inning as he not only hit a massive 141 runs for the team but also remained not out and made sure India post a good total of 295 for South Africa to chase. It was a difficult pitch to bat on, especially with the fierce bowling attack of South Africa. Thus this knock was gold as this came in an all-important semi-final of an ICC cup.
On his birthday, relive Sourav Ganguly’s stunning 141* against South Africa in the semi-final of the ICC KnockOut Trophy 2000 🎉 pic.twitter.com/BK53IPuXpJ
— ICC (@ICC) July 8, 2020
5.) 131 vs England, Lord’s, Test Debut 1996
Making his test debut and that too at Lord’s – the mecca of cricket, a young 23-year-old Ganguly grabbed the opportunity in his hands and impressed everyone with his off-side cover drives as he went on to score a brilliant 131 runs becoming the only Indian to score a century on debut at Lord’s. While wickets kept falling on the other end, Ganguly played his shots when he was joined by another debutant, Rahul Dravid, who with Ganguly put on a 94-run stand that helped India draw the match. This was his return to international cricket after 4 long years as he made his ODI debut in 1992. He also took 3 wickets in the match.
6.) 60 vs England, Lord’s, Natwest Trophy Final, 2002
One of the most iconic wins for India in ODI cricket history is the Natwest trophy final victory against England. Chasing a huge total of 325, Ganguly opened the batting with Sehwag and set the tone for the match and the chase by playing a stunning knock of 60 runs off just 43 balls with an absolutely aggressive approach. Though many will remember Dada from this match for his taking his shirt off on the Lord’s balcony after India won the Trophy. His innings changed how Indians approached cricket.
(Image Source: Screengrabs – England & Wales Cricket Board on YouTube)
On this day in 2002: Ganguly celebrated in style as India won Natwest Trophy
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/FJqAZN6WxX pic.twitter.com/ST2lxuuUPY
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) July 13, 2020
7.) 239 vs Pakistan, Bangalore, 2007
Playing a test match against Pakistan in Bangalore, India was 61/4 before lunch while batting first. Then Ganguly along with Yuvraj Singh from the other end stabilized the innings and they didn’t just stabilize but took the game away from Pakistan. Ganguly scored his first and only Test double-century in his career as India ended with a massive total of 626. This innings came against a good bowling attack of Shoaib Akhtar, Danish Kaneria, and Yaser Arafat. Ganguly followed this with a knock of 91 in the second innings. In the end, the Test match ended with a draw though India gave Pakistan a scare by taking 7 wickets with just 36 overs left for Pakistan to bat.
8.) 141 vs Pakistan, Adelaide, 2000
In the Carton and United Series, a tri-series between India, Pakistan, and Australia, in a match between India and Pakistan – a match that is always pressure match for both teams, Ganguly played a superb knock of 141 while opening the batting for India, and played through the Indian innings and got out in the 49th over making sure that India ends up with a defendable total of 267. He played this superb knock against the legendary Pakistani bowling attack of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Abdul Razzaq.
9.) 90 vs England, Lord’s, 2004
In an ODI match played at the legendary Lord’s Stadium, India chose to bat first against England but were soon reduced to 48/3 in 14 overs. That’s when Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid once again put on a crucial partnership as they added 93 runs for the 4th wicket. Ganguly ended up scoring 90 runs in the low-scoring thriller which won him the man of the match award. Ganguly scored 90 runs out of India’s total of 204. Everyone except for Rahul Dravid (52) and Irfan Pathan (14) scored in single digits.
Similarly in the England innings except for three batsmen, all scored in single digits.
10.) 153 not out vs New Zealand, Gwalior, 1999
While wickets kept falling on the other end, Ganguly once again stood tall and played at a good strike rate. Even India’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar struggled in this match as he scored 1 run off 23 balls and other batsmen too had low strike rates.
Ganguly ended up scoring a massive 153 runs in just 150 balls and hit 18 fours! His batting helped India reach a good total of 261 which enabled India to win the match by 14 runs.
Sourav Ganguly’s Best Bowling Performances
While everyone knows Dada for his captaincy and batting stints, he was a very underrated bowler as well, he would come in crucial situations and would give breakthroughs for India. We look at some of Sourav Ganguly’s best bowling performances here.
1.) 5-16 Vs Pakistan, Toronto, 1997
In the Friendship cup held in Canada in 1997, Ganguly was in his peak form as he ended up scoring the most runs (222) and took the most wickets (15) in the tournament. He was great both with the ball and the bat which was rare. This was a series that saw some of Ganguly’s best batting and bowling performances.
Pakistan opted to field first in this ODI match in Toronto against India. India was able to only post 182 runs in their innings as India lost their top order cheaply. Though he couldn’t work his magic with the bat, Ganguly bowled a beautiful spell with the ball as he took 5 wickets for just 16 runs and restricted Pakistan to just 148 runs.
On this day in 1997, Sourav Ganguly recorded his best ODI bowling figures when he took 5/16 against Pakistan in Toronto 💥 #DidYouKnow Ganguly has taken 100 wickets in ODIs! Can you name his first scalp? pic.twitter.com/yVH9t4grY1
— ICC (@ICC) September 18, 2020
2.) 3-33 Vs Pakistan, Toronto, 1998
In the same series v/s Pakistan in Toronto, in the first match Pakistan batted first and got off to a decent start and were at 71/1 when Ganguly came into the attack and dismissed the destructive Aamer Sohail. He then dismissed Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq and ended with the bowling figures of 3-33. Thus, Pakistan was able to notch up only 189 runs and India chased it comfortably. Ganguly also scored 54 crucial runs in the chase.
3.) 5-34 Vs Zimbabwe, Kanpur, 2000
Ganguly again won a match for India with his bowling in a match against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was batting first when Ganguly bowled exceptionally well and took a 5-wicket haul to restrict Zimbabwe to just 165 runs. He took the wickets of Andy Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower, Heath Streak, and Travis Friend.
4.) 3-41 Vs Australia, Sydney, 2004
In a match against Australia in the VB Series in 2004, India was defending a competitive total of 296. However, their run-chase got off to a good start. Australia was cruising to victory when rain stopped play and the match was reduced to 34 overs. Ganguly then showed his prowess with the ball and took 3 wickets for 41 runs dismissing the formidable Australian middle order of Symonds, Clarke, and Bevan. Despite this performance, India narrowly lost the match.
5.) 4-21 & 130* Vs Sri Lanka, Nagpur, 1999
The last entry in this list of Ganguly’s best batting and bowling performances where he destroys the opposition with both the ball and the bat in the same match. In this match against Sri Lanka, India batted first and Ganguly hit a match-winning knock of 130*, he was supported by Rahul Dravid from the other end.
In the second innings, Ganguly took 4 wickets including that of the Sri Lankan captain Ranatunga. With this match performance, he entered the list of the few cricketers to have scored a century and taken 4 or more wickets in the same match. This has happened only 16 times in ODI history, other notable names to do this are Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Paul Collingwood, and Chris Gayle.
Ganguly has been one of the best-ever cricketers in Indian cricket, he won numerous matches for India with his all-round abilities and would go down in history books as one of the legends. With that, we come to the end of this article, hope you enjoyed reading about Ganguly’s best batting and bowling performances and we will continue bringing you content like this, till then adios!