There are many players in the International Cricket who can time the ball,Hit through the line,Come down the Track,Play elegantly.But when it comes to Off-side there is no one to Superimpose Saurav Ganguly (The Prince of Calcutta or DADA).Dada made his Test Debut against England at “The Grandiloquent LORD’S” the English Batsman batted first and Scored a Mammoth 344 and in that innings it all Happened that Nasser Hussain became Ganguly’s first Test Victim and then Jack Russel(The wicketkeeper during that time) of England Played a Brilliant and superlative Knock to make England reach that Score of 344..Then Came the Men in Blue in White Uniforms->It was a early setback for the Indians when Rathour went cheaply of Cork’s Bowling and this Brought the Legend to the Crease remember this was his Debut and he was Confident and Strong at the Crease like a Sergeant in the Beat House and he was Comfortable with Mullaly and Cork ->The Wicket Machines Of England during that era..And He Drove the Ball with ease through the Off-Side and Timed the Ball well Straight down the Ground and was never looking tensile ..And then one of the Closest Friend and his Team mate Rahul Dravid Joined him and they Both had an 100 Partnership in which Ganguly’s heroics were exposed and after some years Rahul Dravid told in one of the Interviews “On the off-side, first there is God, then there is Ganguly“..Who can forget his Timely Knock at the Dhaka in the Finals against Pakistan (The Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s Last Ball Boundary) and his Innings Against Sri Lanka at Taunton which made him the First Indian to cross 180+ Score in World Cup Matches/International ODI..
And then the man was honored with the Captaincy of INDIAN Cricket on 10th Nov 2000 and there also this man of guts was bold enough to go for unusual experimentation. Who can forget his aggressiveness on field, his rotation policy of bowlers, opportunity on offering for new talent be it Sehwag or Yuvraj. Even his records speak a ton for him, he has been the "Best Indian Captain" so far. Truely speaking, dada was the magic wand which taught Men in Blue to believe in themselves and see what he did, India which rarely won any series outside went on to Tie series with Kangaroos and defeated England, South Africa, west-Indies, Pakistan in their own soil.
And as they say "Always there will be people to pull your legs when you are riding those staircases to top". Same had to happen with dada also, the man whom he always trusted went against him (Greg Chappel) and since then dada had his falls.
But how long a tiger like him can be caged, he was back that too with a bang and it was also dubbed as one of the finest comeback and here is the man retiring gracefully with a series of contribution to Indian Cricket.
Dada you may gone out of field but Your classic shots, those huge sixes, that Chest-baring show @Lords and many more heroics that you crafted during your carrer will be their in our heart forever. So here I'm bidding my own course of adieu to this Real Legend !!
