Sourav Ganguly Records: ODI | Test | Captaincy

One of the most recognizable Indian cricketers, Sourav Ganguly is also one of the successful Indian captains. Born on 8 July 1972, he is affectionately known as ‘Dada’ in the world of cricket.

The left-handed batsman and right-handed medium pacer was one of the most prolific players during his time. Because of his elegant strokeplay through the covers and square of the wicket, he was nicknamed ‘God of the Off Side’.

The ‘Prince of Calcutta’ was the youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly. Because of his wealth and luxurious childhood, Ganguly was nicknamed ‘Maharaja’. His elder brother Snehasish was also an established cricketer for the Bengal cricket team. Sourav married his childhood love Dona Ganguly and they have a daughter named Sana Ganguly.

More Articles Related To Cricket:

• Suresh Raina Biography | Career | Achievements | Wife
• 5 Cricketers Who Are Past Sexual Offenders

Sourav Ganguly Records In ODIs

Ganguly made his ODI debut for his country against West Indies on 11 January 1992. It wasn’t a good start for him as he scored just three runs in his ODI debut.

To add salt to injury, he was removed from the team as he perceived as ‘arrogant’. It was rumoured that he openly refused to carry drinks for his teammates and said that it was not his job.

He returned to ODIs four years later in 1996 against England. Ganguly scored his maiden century (113) against Sri Lanka in 1997. Later that year in the Sahara Friendship Cup against Pakistan, Ganguly won four consecutive Man of the Match awards. Till date he is the only cricketer to achieve this feat.

In the 1999 World Cup against Sri Lanka at Taunton, Ganguly scored 183 off 158 balls. The knock consisted of 17 fours and 7 sixes. It is the third highest by any player and highest for any Indian in World Cup history.

The two top World Cup scores are Chris Gayle (216) and Gary Kirsten (188). Apart from that he shared a partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid, which is the highest in World Cup history and second highest in overall ODIs.

During the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy,in the match against England Ganguly scored 117. This made him the first player to score 3 centuries in the history of the tournament. This record was later equalled by South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and India’s Shikhar Dhawan.

Ganguly was the fastest to reach the 9000-runs mark in ODI cricket. This record was later broken by South Africa’s AB de Villiers in 2017. It was further broken by the present Indian captain Virat Kohli.

Ganguly is one of the five cricketers to have a unique treble to his name in ODIs. This treble consists of 10.000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches. He is also one of the 14 cricketers to play 300 or more ODIs. Overall Ganguly has scored 11,363 ODI runs. This makes him the eighth-highest run-scorer in ODI history and the second among the Indians.

Along with Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly has highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Both of them together scored nearly 7,000 runs at an average of 49.32. Apart from that Ganguly has the world record of creating most 50-run partnerships for first wicket (44 fifties).

Tendulkar and Ganguly also held the record for the highest first wicket partnership of 258 against Kenya in 2001. This record was bettered by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga in 2006 at Headingley.

Apart from that Tendulkar-Ganguly held the record for most 200+ runs ODI partnerships (6 times) along with Ricky Ponting. Both of them also hold the most first wicket 175+ runs ODI partnership (7 times).

Ganguly was also the first Indian to score a century against Australia in Australia. Moreover he is also the highest run scorer in ODI cricket in a calendar year in 1997, 1999 and 2000.

Sourav Ganguly Records In Tests

Ganguly had a dream Test debut in the second Test against England at Lord’s. He scored 131 in his debut Test at Lord’s which is still the highest by any debutant at that ground.

At that time Ganguly was only the third cricketer, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire, to achieve that feat. Later Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior also scored their debut Test century at Lord’s.

After that dream debut, Ganguly followed it up with another 136 in the third Test at Trent Bridge. This resulted him being the third batsman, after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran, to score centuries in the first two Test innings of the career.

In that same innings, Ganguly and Tendulkar shared a 255-runs partnership. At that time it was the highest Indian partnership for any wicket against any country outside India.

Ganguly is one of the 14 cricketers and 7th Indian to have played 100 or more Tests. Throughout his Test career his batting average never went below 40, which is itself a record. He is the 6th highest run-scorer in Tests among the Indians.

Moreover Ganguly also has a unique record in Tests to his name. He is the only batsman to score a century in Test debut and a golden duck in his final Test innings.

Sourav Ganguly Records As Captain

In 2000, after match-fixing scandal of some Indians, Sachin Tendulkar stepped down from captaincy. As a result vice-captain Ganguly was ascended to the role of the captain.

Ganguly began his captaincy with a five-match ODI series win over South Africa. India also reached the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy finals. Despite a century in the final by Ganguly, New Zealand won the match by four wickets.

Later in 2001, Australia toured India and won the first Test of the series. This resulted in Australia’s run of 16 consecutive Test wins. However that streak came to an end in the famous second Test at the Eden Gardens.

India conceded a massive 274 runs first innings lead. Australian captain Steve Waugh sensing a victory decided to ensure the follow-on. However VVS Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) batted the entire fourth day and gave the Aussies a target of 384.

It was a tough ask for the Aussies on the dusty and spinning track. They succumbed to a defeat and became only the third team in the history to lose a match despite ensuring a follow-on in the first innings.

In the historic final of the 2002 Natwest Series at Lord’s, India came back after a spirited performance from Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. After the win Ganguly publicly removed his shirt and brandished it in the air to celebrate the victory.

Many condemned him for this saying he has disrespected the protocol of the Lord’s. In his opinion, Ganguly said that he was only mimicking British all-rounder Andrew Flintoff’s act in one of India tour.

India had won their first World Cup in 1983. Since that for the first time in 2003, India reached the World Cup finals under the captaincy of Ganguly. Despite having a wonderful tournament, India lost the finals to the mighty Australians.

Ganguly is the second successful ODI captain after Mohammed Azharuddin. In Tests, Ganguly led India to 21 wins from 49 games. This record was bettered by MS Dhoni later on. However Ganguly has won 11 Tests in overseas conditions, which is a record among Indian captains.