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Why Sourav Ganguly is one of India’s Greatest Test Batsman ever ?

Written by Ranajoy Chakrabarty. Posted in Articles, Our Editors

Exclusive Article by: Ranajoy Chakrabarty

Before I write my article, I must mention, I have promised my friend that in this article, I will not write about Sourav Ganguly the Captain, to prove him as a Great Test Player, and will only write about his batting. The fact that he is India’s Greatest Test Captain ever is to be ignored just for this article.

Why, write this article? Go to any Sourav Ganguly fan & he/she will tell you that Ganguly is without doubt one of the greatest ever, he/she already knows that, so why this ? Well this is because, about a month back, I was listening to Pitch Invasion, an online cricket commentary +interactive platform started by Anupam Mukerji [The Fake IPL Player] & others, there a question was posted, to select your all time Test XI for India, and almost everybody had ignored Sourav Ganguly in that list, some even had MS.Dhoni in the Team, Some even went further making Dhoni the captain, but no-one picked Sourav Ganguly.

I realized right there, that most Indian’s think Sourav Ganguly was a good ODI player, but the likes of Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag are all better players than him in Test cricket. So this is my article, just to bring in front of you, Sourav Ganguly – The Test Batsman.

Do you know, Sourav Ganguly has been the most consistent Indian Test Cricketer in the last 15 years ? Yes, it’s not Mr. Dependable Rahul Dravid, but a certain Sourav Ganguly, and its not be but a certain set of stats that prove it. Sourav Ganguly is the only Indian Cricketer in the last 15years, to have a consistent test average of 40+ throughout his career. The great Rahul Dravid, had 5 such occasions, yes 5 when his test average was below 40.

Sourav Ganguly’s career test average is 42.17, certainly very good. And 41.07 in the famous No 6 position, which is still vacant, even after 3 years & 3 months of Ganguly’s retirement. But I will come to that part later. His best two averages came at No 4 & No 3 positions for India. At No 3 being his second best with 47 & at No 4 his average is 66, which is the best in the world. Yes even greater than the Legend Sachin Tendulkar, but we often forget to remember these facts. He was the captain, he was most successful in these positions, so if he really wanted, he could have batted there, especially at No 4, because he was even more successful than Sachin at that position, in fact the most successful player in the world. But he was a Team player, and he played for the Team. He knew he can do well batting in No 3, 4, 5 or 6. This makes him great, the fact that he could do it at any position, the fact that he sacrificed a greater part of his own career just to make sure the team does well.

Now, coming back to the famous No 6 position, whenever did Sourav Ganguly walked out to bat, in most occasions, either the team was at 30/4, hostile bowling conditions, most batsmen failing or at 300/4 – the team well set, with the fielding team opting for the new ball. No wonder, the Yuvraj’s, Kholi’s, Raina’s of this world find it so hard. Either the team is struggling with a major collapse, or the opposition is right at you with the second new ball. One needs to be very good technically & very sound mentally to consistently score runs in that position. And yes, just for that reason, it has been 3 years, 3 months, which will be more than 1200 days since Sourav Ganguly has retired and you don’t have his replacement. Well, as yet !

1200 days! Has there been any other cricketer in the world, whose replacement has been so hard to find. I’m not much of a cricket historian, but I can easily tell you the answer is NO. He has been that “Special” and he was that great of a Test cricketer, whose shoes are almost getting impossible to fill. Steve Waugh, someone with a much greater test record than Ganguly, was replaced with such ease, But why are we finding it so difficult to replace Ganguly?

And I am not even stating that he has an average of 65 in England, where we recently saw the Indian Batting collapse under 300 in every innings!

But the fact remains, Greatness is not just by the stats you have, Ganguly’s stats were 7212 runs in 113 tests at an average of 42.17, [well that is pretty good too isn’t it?] but the kind of impact the player had on the team. When a player has retired for 3 years & the team is still missing him in every match, just shows you how special the player was.

Yes, he may never have the stats Sachin or Dravid will end up with, but he will be the player who was so special that the team missed him for such a long time, with due respect to them, something Dravid or Sachin may never get. And that will be the greatness of the Batsman Ganguly.

PS -> Just for his Captaincy, Sourav Ganguly should get into any India Test XI of all time, cause without doubt he was the greatest Indian Captain ever, a captain who brought pride into the Indian Team, even we the ordinary Indians, were proud of our team, we were no more just a touring party in abroad tours, we started winning in every series under him. And how special & important those wins were, are proved today, when we see the present captain MS.Dhoni loosing 6 matches in a row. Test Captaincy, especially in abroad tours in not so easy my friend, and I’m glad these 2 series this year has again proved the Sourav Ganguly, is—was—and shall always remain India’s Greatest captain.

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Ranajoy Chakrabarty

My articles will always be full of emotions. I don't know how to write, but I will still make my points heard. So don't look for any writing qualities in by articles, but for some pure emotions from the heart. And then its upto you to judge it.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Umarajashekher-Vedula/1799838779 Umarajashekher Vedula

well written
http://www.facebook.com/wsminksark Kunal Sarkar

Super – duper like !!
http://twitter.com/Cricket_xpert Cricket Expert

Awesome !!! One
http://twitter.com/Cricket_xpert Cricket Expert

Awesome !!! One
http://www.facebook.com/wsminksark Kunal Sarkar

Guys share this …..
http://www.facebook.com/ImRitun Ritun Roy

dada, you’re great
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1256811641 Arkaprava Banerjee

agreed , @Ranajoy , superb job man ……..
http://www.facebook.com/bipinyadu Good Bipin

Love u dada ……dhoni is really stupid he shud hv approached dada just after we lost the 1st test badly
http://www.facebook.com/people/Yogesh-Mali/1117161533 Yogesh Mali

He deserve come back if SRL not in form. He is man who can bought back confidance in to the dressing room not MA
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ankesh-Saha/100000259179920 Ankesh Saha

ha ha ha… This is the joke of cricketing life time… Ganguly the greatest batsman… what a joke

http://www.facebook.com/people/Shubham-Mishra/100000661549958 Shubham Mishra

YOU BETTER BE IN YOUR LIMITS
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dip-Bhat/100003161945019 Dip Bhat

And you are perhaps the joke of Universe’s life time….;)…..just kidding….never mind.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Shubham-Mishra/100000661549958 Shubham Mishra

i hail the writer of this page……..HE HAS SNATCHED WORDS FROM MY MOUTH……..i always felt and still feel that DADA IS AN UNDER RATED TEST PLAYER………he has done so much for our country in test cricket BUT I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DON’T TREAT HIM AS A GREAT TEST PLAYER……………at last i want to say one thing…..SOURAV GANGULY WAS MUCH GREATER THAN HIS STATS IN TEST CRICKET………….DO YOU GUYS FEEL THE SAME?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Shubham-Mishra/100000661549958 Shubham Mishra

I AM HIGHLY OBLIGED THAT PEOPLE ARE LIKING MY COMMENTS…..thank you………11 likes…..that’s tremendous…….

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

jst for everyone’s info, i m his frnd to whom he promised that he wont talk about captaincy.no ranajoy, i agree that he must find a place in the india’s greatest test XI but is he the greatest ever?, i m not sure..3 important things that you have mentioned in this article are his average at no. 4(from which the conclusion u draw is that he is better than sachin at this position), second point is how hard the role of no.6 batsman is and the third is his replacement hasn’t been found..now these are my replies-1.he has batted at 4 in only 16 matches out of which 70% have been in sub continent.So, average tends to be high.2.even batting at third is also difficult.When the team gets a bad start, it is the no.3 batsman(usually dravid for india) who has to take india out of trouble..as dravid himself said “we(the no.3 batsmen) are the one who make life easy for the kings of cricket,i.e. the middle order”..and 3.agreed ganguly’s replacement hasn’t been found yet but you never know whether dravid’s or sachin replacement would be easy to find or not since they havent retired yet..had they retired at the time when dada retired, their replacement would have been difficult to find too.,infact when they will retire soon, you will know how hard will they be able to replace but until then we cant take this point……..finally, i wud like to say that no doubt dada is a legend and definitely fits well in the india’s greatest test team, but is he the greatest, I am not sure…talking about impact to the game, i m not sure whether any batsman has had a greater impact than sehwag
http://www.facebook.com/people/Avrajit-Ghosh/100001634012078 Avrajit Ghosh

Not a good article actually…entirely ruled by biased ness and not on logic..

http://www.facebook.com/people/Dip-Bhat/100003161945019 Dip Bhat

Did you know that…

1.The year 2008 when Sourav was dropped from Irani Trophy for poor performance and then forced to retire he was the “Highest ” Test run scorers for India …(Above sachin,dravid,shewbag,Laxman)

2.In the same year he is the “Second” highest test run scorer in international level after Mathew Hayden.

3.Just before the Srilanka series he was the “Man of the Series” against SA.

4.Same Season he scored a double hundred against Pakistan. (239)

The reason as it is said he is blocking “Yuvaraj Sings” test career ….now where is he now ?

Am i getting biased ? U decide…

http://www.facebook.com/people/Avrajit-Ghosh/100001634012078 Avrajit Ghosh

U say we are finding it hard to get a replacement of Dada!! True.. But another fact is that we will find it EVEN MORE HARDER to get a replacement of Dravid, Sachin and Laxman..

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

thats what i hv mentioned in my reply

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001174385030 Sam Digumarthi

very impressive article ’bRo ,,,,,,,& expecting more such kind of article’s from U,,, good joB
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7XTYL373MMWI3TX4Y2A6KSDC44 saurav

very well written……true 2 d core
http://www.facebook.com/devdee.mehta Devdee Mehta

absolutely no doubt,dada the ever best cricketing brain of india n ultimate captain of india,who is competent enough still to be the captain of india!! dada mental toughness is an example in world cricket bcos the kind of dirty politics n treatment was muted on him by visionless bcci n selectors,others like sachin,laxman n dravid would have retired years ago,it was only dada ,who slept all the dirty elements of ckt n proved them wrong,again n again. so by any standards or yard sticks dada is the supreme ckt brain n authoruty!!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Somdeep-Chatterjee/705520507 Somdeep Chatterjee

Please do also include the fact that India has never LOST a test in which the great dada has scored a 100..!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Masum-Ahmed/100001282045806 Masum Ahmed

how can u say that the team is missing him??based on what stats do u count “MISSINGNESS”?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

This is so sad. I am a big fan of Ganguly, so are you. That is why, I know that even Ganguly himself would never demean players like Sachin and Dravid who are legends of Indian cricket. This is just shameful. Dada never played to prove himself better than the others and now you are trying to do that for him. Such a blemish on his illustrious career.Satistically speaking, you are wrong. You said, “Sourav Ganguly is the only Indian Cricketer in the last 15years, to have a consistent test average of 40+ throughout his career.”This is grossly inaccurate. Dada averaged a meager 22 in 2005 and 34 in 2006. He was rested after this which made me very sad because I thought he deserved to play on for his exceptional service to the Indian Cricket over the years..Then much to my joy, he made a comeback in 2007 and averaged a breathtaking 65, scoring that 239 against Pakistan. But in 2008, his average dropped to 36 again and he decided to retire. One of the saddest moments for me in cricket.Dada was definitely one of the best, but calling him the best ever over the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Rahul Dravid, etc. is just wrong. For me, he is definitely better than VVS Laxman though.When you discuss impact on the game, no player has had a greater impact than Sehwag. You don’t believe me? well, 5 double hundreds and 2 triple hundreds should prove my point for you. Oppositions are scared of Sehwag. I read an interview of Shoaib Akhtar with Rameez Raja, and he admitted that he was scared of Sehwag’s square cut.Opening is a tough position too. New ball, bowlers are fresh and charged, attacking fields.But coming back to the point, Dada was amazing, no doubt. But definitely not the BEST. He will himself laugh at this statement of yours.

Anonymous

Why Sourav Ganguly is one of India’s Greatest Test Batsman ever ?
Can you read it ? It says one of the Greatest, not the greatest ever ! I seriously thing you need to read the article properly.And yes, in the 15 years there has been no cricketer, whose average has never gone below 40 apart from Ganguly! Yes, he had bad patches, still is career average was above 40, that proves his greatness!!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

“His best two averages came at No 4 & No 3 positions for India. At No 3 being his second best with 47 & at No 4 his average is 66, which is the best in the world. Yes even greater than the Legend Sachin Tendulkar, but we often forget to remember these facts.”

What does that comment mean? You tell me. I think you should read your own article dude. Your title says that he is one of the best, but your article implies that he is the best.

Your article says that he is the most consistent of Indian batsmen, and here your comments agree that he has had bad patches. What is your definition of consistency? Having consistent bad patches can also be deemed as consistency by the way, literally speaking.

On one hand, you say that statistics do not mean much, and on the other, you are leaning on the statistics to say that his average has never gone below 40. Dhoni’s average has never gone below 40 in ODI’s. Does that make him a better player than Ganguly in ODI’s?

Think about it.

Anonymous

“His best two averages came at No 4 & No 3 positions for India. At No 3 being his second best with 47 & at No 4 his average is 66, which is the best in the world. Yes even greater than the Legend Sachin Tendulkar, but we often forget to remember these facts.”Isn’t that a fact ? whats wrong if I point out a honest fact ?And yes, bad patches, is common, but with them also, he has been able to maintain his consistency…That a even greater achievement!!The points stated are all factually correct!! And all I have done is pointed out, he is as great a Tests Player as the likes of Dravid if not Tendulkar!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

Then also point out the fact that his overall average is 42.. that is also an honest fact..

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

There have been many other players who could not be replaced even after many years..

examples: Inzamam Ul Haq, Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist, Wasim Akram, Waqar Yunus, Mohammed Yousuf, Courtney Walsh, Curtley Ambrose, Shane Warne..

Why look that far away? Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Irfan Pathan in a way because we still have not found a genuine all rounder, but he cannot be compared to the other greats of course.I will tell you why your article is obnoxious to say the least:

1) You have based your article on Statistics – when you were the first person to dismiss them by saying that Ganguly’s statistics do not show his greatness. But according to your convenience, you revert back to the same statistics when you said that his average has never gone below 40.

2) You started off the article with saying that most of us agree that Ganguly is ONE OF THE BEST. Well, that is of course true. Dada is ONE OF THE BEST. However, the sentence below implies that you think Ganguly is in fact better.”I realized right there, that most Indian’s think Sourav Ganguly was a good ODI player, but the likes of Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag are all better players than him in Test cricket. So this is my article, just to bring in front of you, Sourav Ganguly – The Test Batsman.”

3) Your article is based on emotions and not practicality which is making you look at the same statistics in a different way. I am a statistics major my friend, and the first thing I learned was that the same numbers can be made to look completely different. Your emotions towards Dada are guiding you here. Not your logic.

4) You gave the reference of the England tour where Dada has a tremendous average. But in your last article, I remember you criticizing the Wall. You conveniently forgot that the Wall recently got 3 centuries there. But for you, Dada is still better than the Wall.

See.. if you keep writing in this biased way, eventually, only those people will read your article who think in a biased way like you do. The funny part is, that these people do not need your article to reinforce their absolute faith in Ganguly being the best cricketer to have ever graced the game.

Anonymous

Inzamam Ul Haq -> Misba Ul haq,
Brian Lara -> Darren Bravo, Adam Gilchrist -> Brad haddin, Wasim Akram -> Mohammad Akram, asif, so many, Waqar Yunus -> Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Yousuf -> Guess he just retired, Courtney Walsh -> mervyn dillon, Curtley Ambrose -> Jerome taylor, Shane Warne -> Nathan Lyon doing a very good job!Ashwin has a greater impact than Kumble had in his initial days!Zak is better than srinath!
Pathan hasent retired LOL
Sourav Ganguly was a good ODI player, but the likes of Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag are all better players than him in Test cricket. So this is my article, just to bring in front of you, Sourav Ganguly – The Test Batsman.” | yes, I believe Ganguly is better than most of them! Barring tendulkar probably! Your emotions towards Dada are guiding you here. Not your logic. | May be… I just wrote What I felt, had found few numbers backed me up to! I remember you criticizing the Wall. You conveniently forgot that the Wall recently got 3 centuries there. But for you, Dada is still better than the Wall. | Yes! He did, so ? Does that make Ganguly a bad test player ?

The funny part is, that these people do not need your article to reinforce their absolute faith in Ganguly being the best cricketer to have ever graced the game. | Well, I will let my reader judge what is write or wrong! As long as they are happy, Im too…I know I have ruffled some feathers with this article, and I’m very glad I did so.Thank you

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

cmon now.. U really think Inzamam’s replacement is Misbah and Lara’s replacement is Dwayne Bravo? shows how little you understand cricket..

lol.. even I can say, Dada –> Virat Kohli.. does it prove that Virat was a replacement?

Ashwin is better than Kumble? (Kumble has 600 wickets sir. Ashwin will never reach that milestone) Lyon is as good as Warne.. Merv Dillon is as good as Walsh?? Please show this comment of yours to Dada somehow.. He will throw stones at you, I promise. lol..

U havnt ruffled any feathers my friend.. not mine at least. I made it very clear that I was dada’s fan in the very beginning..

If you will let your reader judge you, I am a reader too.. let me judge you.. lol..
sourav Das

nathan lyon as replacement for shane warne????? and u call urself an editor??!!!!!!! ha ha ha!! that has got to be the joke of the century!!!!!!! ha ha ha!! still cant stop laughin.thank you.
Anonymous

Great, that I gave u a laugh!! And I only said
Shane Warne -> Nathan Lyon doing a very good job! “

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

ranajoy, read the address bar when you open this page..it says sourav ganguly-india’s greatest test batsman……and even i believe he is one of the greatest but no the greatest and certainly not greater than gavaskar, sachin or dravid

Anonymous

I cant control the address bar, its the heading & the text inside I can edit…

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

okk

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

very well said mihir..

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=661714787 Naveen Kadarappa

The only indian captain who has taken over the border gavaskar trophy on aussie soil ….Indian legend…….Tht aussies team under steve waugh were like devils…But dada came almost near for winning the series,,.:)
http://www.facebook.com/dey.nihar Nihar Dey

superb written Rana……….
http://www.facebook.com/sumancute Heart Hacker Gangulian

hats off to you the writer………just phatiye…kono katha hobe na
http://www.facebook.com/sumancute Heart Hacker Gangulian

@mihir yadav, no doubt sachin is a great batsman…..but always remeber, even sachin also faced a bad time……do you know who picked up indian team from that stage????? why did sachin leave captaincy?????? “cricketer” this term does not refer that u have to gain some records….if our beloved dada would play for gaining some records then he could that……do u know sourav ganguly is the fastest 9,000 runs scorers??????? our beloved dada achieved a lot of records before taking the captaincy…..if he would want to gain some records, then he also could refuse to take captaincy…….but he would not want that……he wanted to see india’s glory……my point is that don’t compare between sachin and sourav……”Sportsmen generally generate only two
emotions: euphoria and despair. But like a rock star, Ganguly can make
you run through the entire gamut of emotions.Being a Ganguly fan
means being part of an unpredictable emotional journey. You never know
what will come your way on a particular day. Nobody else has the power
to enthrall and exasperate like him.His fans understand the wonder of Sourav Ganguly.”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

Mere bhai, first off, my name is Mihir Jadhav and not Mihir Yadav..

Second.. So this article is about test matches.. And you are saying that Ganguly was the fastest player to reach 9000 runs.. hahahahaha.. dude.. he has some 7000 runs in Tests..

Thirdly, I believe that Ganguly was the best captain ever. It was because of him that we could win the World Cup.. So I am a big fan of Ganguly myself..

Fourthly, Sachin himself admitted that he could not handle captaincy.. He understood his limitations.. Why take potshots at him? I never said that Sachin never faced bad times.. But the author of this article said that Ganguly has been the most consistent of test players that India has ever produced.. This statement evokes the need for comparison..

http://www.facebook.com/people/Alakananda-Bhattacharya/100001070785858 Alakananda Bhattacharya

Well done bro, keep it up! :)
http://www.facebook.com/tapanshit2009 Tapan Kumar

the team and player evrything is desaided on bcci bord mem.. now nobody from bengal. at that time also nobody cnat save that man ofside god. bcci only focused only mony not be sports. and not be player improtent for them. so they can not be fill like a sports man. they can not be fill sports man pain… so how can they fill indian glory andhow is making that!!!!!!!!! JUST THINK MINISTER CAN BE FILL LIKE AN ARMY MAN.. NO NEVER. ALL POLITICS…….. SORRY THAT IS MY PERSONAL OPINION/
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RD7DHYXQUUVSNN3ZBKSZGIF26Q sudipto

u missed an important fact in this article. That when dada was captain he batted in no. 5 position not no. 6. Laxman batted at no. 6 position. However I agree that he was a good batsman. But if one is asked to choose the best XI for India across eras, it becomes difficult to include Dada because, u can’t replace anyone in this lineup-gavaskar, sehwag, dravid, tendulkar, laxman,_________ ,dhoni, kapil, kumble, zaheer, srinath/Prasanna/bedi/chandrasekhar.

Dhoni gets included simply because India never produced any other good enough batsman wicket keepers.
And for the dashed position there are just too many candidates including dada, like Mohinder amarnath, Vijay hazare, Polly umrigar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, etc.

So if the team plays overseas only then I would include Dada (yes for his captaincy) otherwise Vishwanath will get the nod (in my opinion)

http://www.facebook.com/dwaipayan.mukherjee.3 Dwaipayan Mukherjee

Have you heard of someone called Fahrukh Engineer?

http://www.facebook.com/sidhu0706 Urstruly Sidhu

I agree wid u (whoever has written thz article). jst a reminder fa u dont ever compare sachin wid GANGULY bcoz he must b having above 60+ avg in tests at no4 bt how many innings he playd at no4 compared to sachin ??? VVS has scored his 283 againt aus at no 3 n he will b avgng some 60 r 70++ at dat position fa dat u cant say he will score lyk thz everytime n maintain dat avg n he shud b battng at no 3. its jst 1 of those days it happened.
I agree sourav as a team player n d best captain india ever had.

dhoni is jst LUCKY to have a better team dan ganguly. DHONI unfit fa tests

SACHIN n SOURAV i luv u both
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TGJLGEIUSEBJVJOJZIZF5PNHCQ pratul

Lol Rofl kuchh bhi article. Saurav Ganguly and greatest test batsman? lol

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mihir-Jadhav/509488099 Mihir Jadhav

Lol.. i know right? Look at the URL..

/2012/01/sourav-ganguly-india’s-greatest-test-batsman

This is such a pathetic article.. I am a huge Ganguly fan and was hoping to meet some RATIONAL fellow Ganguly fans here on this forum..

lekin yeh kuchh zyaada hi ho gaya..

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TGJLGEIUSEBJVJOJZIZF5PNHCQ pratul

Yeah. The writer is too sentimental about Ganguly and knows little about cricket. Having 40+ average consistently does not
make him better test player than Dravid, especially when he had 100s in first 2 tests. Ganguly owes a lot of success he got during
his captaincy to Dravid, the true team man ready to even keep wickets for team. Writer himself knows little abt Ganguly, he
batted at number 5 position for India and not 6 as the article says (99
innings vs 47, 47 includes some 10-15 innings where night watchman preceded him, so it should be 99 vs 30). And the average in England is boosted by centuries in
first 2 tests, after which, to be truthful, he could not fulfill the promise he had
shown.

Indranil Debnath

even after such a prolong and disastrous overseas the career avg of sachin dravid sehwag has not fallen below 50…..so please do not go with career avg…talk abt years….every batsman has had their tough share in their career and dada is no different…..he has been an wonderful player and more so the best in the rankings when captaincy is concerned…..and he is one of the very best when it comes down to batting……bt comparing him with the likes of sachin and dravid just bcoz he batted lower down the order and bla bla bla doesn’t make any sense…
avishek chatterjee

Sourav is India’s greatest captain and one of the finest ODI openers. He was a good but not great test batsman and was very reliable at no 5. I think the captaincy wore him down and his batting suffered. But Sachin is the greatest allround batsman India has produced, and one of the greatest ever in terms of durability. Dravid is a great in his own right, but it is his ability to build partnerships with his fellow batsmen that makes him the best person to have in times of crisis. So, all three are equally valuable for Indian cricket.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rupesh-Ranjan/100000503966060 Rupesh Ranjan

its a matter f shame 4r indian fans who cant entertain his achivements…..dada ws d best…indian crkt wil alwaz miss him.
Indranil Debnath

there has been more dan 4-5 instances where his test average dipped below 40….so please don’t build up ur own statistics….

Anonymous

We don’t! What we said is a fact, please get ur facts sorted before u make lame comments!!!

Indranil Debnath

http://www.cricketweb.net/statsspider/player/graph/327880-Test-5.php
pls do follow the link once…..if urs is a fact then wats this???…we all love ganguly….he is our pride…bt dat doesnt mean we build up our own stats to make him bigger than what he is….

Anonymous

@google-ab684e263b511c0866e6614d1558cbf8:disqus your link says the yearly average on Ganguly. Its says for the year 2001 & 2005 his average was below 40, but that doesn’t speak about his overall career average. Agreed, he had a slump during those time, but he was such a legend, that even with those poor run of forms, he had an career average over 40 right throughout!! Thank You!!!

Indranil Debnath

i would love to know those 5 instances where dravid’s avg dipped below 40…..aand after 7 losses on a trot sachin and dravids career avg has not fallen below the 50 run mark….
Anonymous

Well, hard for me to point out all 5, but the lowest of Dravid’s avgs was 34.62 at end of Cape Town
Test in January 1997
Indranil Debnath

january 1997….hahaha…rahul started his career in the year 1996…20th june 1996…vs england..the same day dada debuted….he scored if am nt wrong 95….so u r taking into acnt a batsman’s average when he was just abt 6 mnts old in international cricket….
friend i have no hard feelins for dada or his fans..in fact being a bengali i take pride dat i live in the den of the royal bengal tiger….bt unnecessary biasness and drawing out comparisons when u dnt have the proper facts makes no sense….dada is the greatest captain India has ever produced and the current indian team needs his services be it a manager or a consultant ..the best i wud consider is to make dada the coach…thanks!!..
Anonymous

That was his lowest, not his latest

Neways, Ganguly has never had that also..

Once again I say, every fact I have given is completely true! Now its upto you, if you feel I am biased, maybe I am…but all I know is, numbers dont lie!!
Indranil Debnath

i am nt talking abt latest or lowest..i was talking abt the point u made…dat dravid failed in as many as 5 occassions..bt u are unable to provide me the proof…except 1ce when he just started his career….barely a series or two….dats not the way to make comparisons….provide the right statistics….give us the proof….just stating dat ur facts are true doesnt makes any sense…..
Indranil Debnath

mate the article is a fantastic one…i even shared it on fb…bt instead of only highlighting dada’s remarkable achievements u have compared him with the likes of sachin and dravid on a number of occassions….we dont need any comparisons to judge dada’s greatness…he is and will remain great forever….comparing the very greats of the game only adds to their disrespect from our side….

http://www.facebook.com/dwaipayan.mukherjee.3 Dwaipayan Mukherjee

Get your facts right… YOU need to check the stats…Do you even understand what cumulative average is, or how it is computed?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=590356661 Shuvojit Moulik

truth is the “WHY” was not needed ..! great article Ranajoy , specially the way it unfolds the stats.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Sam-Jacob/600549043 Sam Jacob

And this article doesn’t even have a mention f his 239 vs Pakistan & 144 vs Australia (Brisbane) when the top order simply *ucked up! The Brisbane innings was even more special because it showed that even Indians could play in such a way against Aussies in Aus — after that match likes f Sachin, Laxman & Dravid started hittin massive centuries & he wasn’t able to score much as India would have piled up massive leads already. Even in his last series, he said that he was gonna retire before the start f the series and was the highest run getter for the series — once again against the aussies! :d I don’t think even the likes f Sachin or Dravid have the guts to say that they’d retire before the start of a series. Only if they perform good in the series, they’d call it their last.

Indranil Debnath

perhaps u have forgot the 148 made by sachin in sydney way back in 1992….even laxman scored some 167 in the second innings in scg in the year 2000 …so indian batsman have learnt to score big centuries against the aussies way b4 dada showed them the way with his 144…:P:P
and abt the point of retirement..lets see…its too early to predict whether sachin or dravid wud call it quits after a series or b4….biased dada fans never understood the contributions of the little master or the wall……
http://www.facebook.com/sumancute Heart Hacker Gangulian

@facebook-600549043:disqus bro they will not understand it……they don’t know the fact….ganguly came to the crease before sachin….because he wanted to protect sachin….as dada’s opinion, sachin’s wicket was more important than his…..so, he came to the crease before sachin…..next is history….in indian cricket history, first time ever that incident happend……salute 2 you dada for your never say die attitude………today i have watched dada’s come back innings in 2007…..it was just fantabulous….once again my eyes filled up with tears……….miss you dada very badly……oh my prince, plz come back one last time….india need you very much…hail dada

aman verma

I love you dada………..
http://www.facebook.com/people/Suchandra-Ganguly/800180299 Suchandra Ganguly

indian cricket at the test level is going through their worst stage because the icons the so-called businessman who gamble for the sport rather than let the players play their natural game, have come up in a few years. they dont respect CRICKET, Saurav is far-off !!!!!!!!!! the valour, the majesty, the bravery of taking risks that the world had witnessed through Sourav’s reigning days are no longer seen. they have got rid of it long back but the longing for it is still their in the heart of millions…..BRING BACK GANGULY.
i was never a cricket fan but i used to see it because of this person sourav ganguly. the entity Saurav Ganguly is beyond cricket a great motivation for me and will always remain so. Ranajoy Chakraborty kudos to your love for saurav. fantastic article.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JOO3TVRB5CSSQXPTPRQDL6EBWY Saroj

stop stupid praising.He was never a good quality test bestman if u tell about oneday then i would agrre to some extent.Pl. go through the record of ganguly he only scored 3 centuries aganist quality opposition.His cenuries only came aganist minnows like B’desh,kenya.Your time of critisim is appropriate as team india is not doing well aganist a quality attack.

Anonymous

He scored a 100 in test cricket against Kenya ? OMG…I had no idea Kenya played Test cricket! LOL..
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

sorry@saroj this shows your poor cricket knowledge.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kapildeb-Karmakar/1128968418 Kapildeb Karmakar

@yahoo-JOO3TVRB5CSSQXPTPRQDL6EBWY:disqus show me a no 6 batsman with better quality than DADA….nd did u forget that how India learn to win in overseas test series???
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

are you out of your senses?..are pakistan, australia minnows?.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1273757982 Neelesh Kumar

and kenya even doesnt play tests
http://www.facebook.com/dwaipayan.mukherjee.3 Dwaipayan Mukherjee

First of all decide if you’re talking about tests or ODIs, because I’m confused. When did Kenya play Tests? If it’s ODIs you’re talking about, then you’re posting in the wrong thread, this is about Sourav- the test batsman.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

what an article sirjee.Great article as DADa.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Avishek-Pal-Chowdhury/100001053531790 Avishek Pal Chowdhury

Saroj–R u having some brain ham’rage?U said he scored only 3 tons aginst top countries…..will u please go to wiki or should I send to the link….such stupid thinking sorry to say but can’t resist myself
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

sorry for your poor cricket knowledge.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Avishek-Pal-Chowdhury/100001053531790 Avishek Pal Chowdhury

Still there is no replacement for DADA in no 6 position for Indian test cricket
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

hahaha
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

mast joke mara hai
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

agree with u@gangulian.He is much greater or greatest than these so called players actually greedy businessmen like sachin who is just playin for money and ads.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

hahaha on your article sorry but i can’t stop my laugh.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

and i can’t stop laughing on your comment.hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

kya bola hai gangulian ekdum dada ka sixer.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Vishal-Makhijani/100002922926644 Vishal Makhijani

agree that there are many choices but can’t understand to take dhoni in team.we have better wk/batsman like mongia or others than dhoni.
http://twitter.com/jij4u Jijin KV

Indian team is going through a tough phase that doesnt mean that they are good for nothing, they did make us proud lifting the World cup in our era… Dhoni is a good captain, youngsters will also groom up since they have the potential, we cannot keep living in the Cricket World with the old folks. Support India guys dont pull them down!!! There shouldnt be comparison on Dravid, Sachin and Ganguly, all of them gave their part for the country.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jaydeep-Kar/100003058672785 Jaydeep Kar

very emothoianl!!!!! How can you forget the record of Dravid & Sachin. Gavaskar, Azharuddin, Sehwag, Lakshman. It’s true that Sourav was a great captain and also a special batsman but to say the greatest it’s never possible. As far as captain’s achievement is concerned, Dhoni’s record is already far better than his.

Indranil Debnath

hardcore dada fans never recognised the feats achieved by the greats of the game like sachin or dravid….
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000859145619 Surendar Cps

DHONI BETTER THAN DADA >>rofl.. very funny..
http://www.facebook.com/dwaipayan.mukherjee.3 Dwaipayan Mukherjee

Firstly, the correspondent didn’t say Sourav was the greatest. There’s a difference between ‘the greatest’ (as in case of Mohd. Ali, if you get the drift, and ‘one of the greatest’). Secondly, to even compare Dhoni the Captain with Sourav is one of the most ridiculous things ever… Need I say more? If you do not believe me, please check the test captaincy records over the past year…

http://twitter.com/edwin_edda Edwin Antonysamy

Is there one bengalio on this planet who does not think that Saurabh Ganguly is the best thing that happened to cricket?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jayachandra-Sy/100001648273284 Jayachandra Sy

The article which is published is absolutely right, which proves that Dada is not only the player, he is an match winner….
http://www.facebook.com/nitinsrawat Nitin S Rawat

Hi,
I do understand the emotion that has gone behind this (my favorite player being SG himself)..
But this is one of the biggest misinterpretation of cricketing stats (especially averages) i have ever come across anywhere (better average implying more success?? Shouldn’t we look into the number of innings one has played at a position because going by the logic provided, Ganguly was better than Bradman after his first test inning (131 at Lord’s) :p)
Let’s have a look:
Batting Position    Innings Played
3                               18
4                                21
5                              107
6                                54

Position 3 or 4, therefore, can (and should) not be taken as prime examples to judge his batting career’s caliber. 5 or 6 would be much better representations, no?
[Tendulkar (clearly the best batsman of this era) averages 11 at number 3 in ODIs in 12 innings]

Yes he(Ganguly) was a good batsman (either ODI or tests), had the biggest impact on indian cricket ever, and could have done much better(at least statistically) in tests had he batted at 3 or 4.

But i’m sorry buddy, this has gone a little too far and fast, had cricket run on emotion alone, Ganguly would still be playing in test 11).

Thanks for the inputs though.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000859145619 Surendar Cps

awesome… DADA is a team man.. work towards the welfare of his team more than anything else…more than his personal achievements .unlike other cricketers who play for there pride and records…MISS U DADA>>>>
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000859145619 Surendar Cps

i think u r a poor cricket fan with poor knowledge abt the game .. only 3 hundreds against quality opposition ..really funny..
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000859145619 Surendar Cps

got the feeling of really gangulian hats off suchandra…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Sankha-Maitra/100001333670230 Sankha Maitra

DADA IS ALWAYS BEST.INDIAN CRICKET MUST NOT FORGET HIS CONTRIBUTIONS.

SANKHA
http://www.facebook.com/tamoghna.datta.7 Tamoghna Datta

Dravid’s replacement will not even appear in 12000 days!!Yes, Dada is technically superior to the current IPL heroes namely Kohli, Raina, Rohit etc etc…but as a pure test batsman he was not as good as Dravid, Laxman or Sachin against quality short pitched, swinging stuff consistently. Please do not point out 2/3 innings…because these are exceptions and exceptions do not prove the law, they improve the law!!Take 10-15 matches against SA, AUS, ENG etc and preferrably on foreign soil, you will see the “trio” outshines dada.No doubt, Dada was a very good, orthodox test batsman – but certainly not the greatest!!!That is pure bong emotion speaking:-)

http://www.facebook.com/subhojit.chatterjee.12 Subhojit Chatterjee

RECORDS SAY THAT DADA SCORED MORE RUNS THAN DRAVID IN ENGLAND………WHERE U GET THE MOST SHORT PITCHED AND SWINGING STUFF……..

http://www.facebook.com/people/Priya-Verma/100001431591179 Priya Verma

Mr Chakraborthy.. with your atricle you have proved how knowledgeless you are about cricket. Do you even know who is MS Dhoni and how gr8 he is in all formats? Tendulkar..india’s gr8st batsman said that dhoni is the best captain, I have played under. He said that because of the fact Dhoni has manged to bring glories to indian team in all formats without gr8 bowlers like Anil Kumble. The success that Ganguly had in Aus and Eng in 2002 and 2003 is because of kumble who picked wkts. Dhoni does not have the luxury of gr8 bowlers like Kumble in his side. And along with that you have forgot to mention that we were whitewashed by New zealand under ganguly in 2002 and also lost to west indies 2-1 even with gr8 bowlers like Kumble and Srinath whereas Dhoni won the series in west indies and New Zealand. So for God sake please stop talking rubbish and dont be a Bengali. be an indian and talk like an indian with true facts.

Lakshmi Sreekanth

@Priya :
with your comments you have proved how knowledge less you are about Dada. Bajji taken 30+ wickets with Aus in India….

http://www.facebook.com/subhojit.chatterjee.12 Subhojit Chatterjee

@facebook-100001431591179:disqus
I THINK YOU ARE NOT ONLY KNOWLEDGE LESS ABOUT CRICKET BUT U ALSO DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE BASIC ABCD OF CRICKET……DURING 2002 TOUR OF ENGLAND IN TESTS GANGULY HAD SCORED 1 CENTURY AT LEEDS AND TWO HALF CENTURY……AND IN AUS 2003 DADA HAD ALONE PLAYED TO SCORE A BRILLIANT 144 IN BRISBANE THAT HELPED INDIA TOP WIN THE MATCH AND LEVEL THE SERIES….WHAT DID DHONI DO?????????A BIG ZERO………AS HE IS……..

http://www.facebook.com/people/Priya-Verma/100001431591179 Priya Verma

For all the knowledgeless slaves of Sourav Ganguly here are the stats that will shut your mouths forever. The test matches that india won in England and australia are because of these two guys Dravid and Kumble. Remember the headingly test 148 dravid on seaming track.he was also the MOM. Kumble took 7 wkts in that match. Again in aus adelaide..dravid scored 233 and 75 ot out to win test match where ganguly contribution was nothing in that match. Kumble and agarkar took 6 wkts to win that match. By the way kumble took 24 wkts in that series.

Dhoni as a captain does not have the luxury of kumble to win in england and aus but Dhoni has won series in west indies and new zealand without gr8 bowlers like kumble and srinath where as ganguly was whitewashed by new zealand in 2002 with kumble and srinath and ganguly was also the captain where india lost to west indies 2-1 with kumble and srinath.

Athul Devkar

dnt talk rubbish just because yu like dhoni … i just hate dhoni ‘s fans… yu guys dnt have any idea abt cricket.. cricket is not just abt the records .. yu have to take in acount the team played against , pitches played on den and team he had den and in wat situation the team was den …
http://profile.yahoo.com/XS4RWU5VE6QJFGRE5DLYZOQCPI Rams

Hi priya… Ganguly shown the way how to win in abroad … in indian 75 cricket ganguly got the best captain award. i dont agree with ur points.. Dhoni has taken wrong decisions in 2011 world cup.except final match… dhoni always luck favour person.. he is a worst keeper in the world .no doubt about it.. Sachin great player but he is not a gud captian… if ganguly wouldnt accept captaincy..surely he can reach sachin records..no doubt about it.. and one more thing..am not a bengali..as a indian i am talking about Ganguly(Legend)
http://www.facebook.com/sujatra.bhattacharyya Sujatra Bhattacharyya

ranajoy–reading this article is a pleasure. it was well constructed
with facts and analysis. sometimes i feel ganguly was extremely under
rated as a test batsman–and honestly speaking except Dravid, and
laxman, only he ensured test wins for india. unfortunately sachins
brilliance never worked to record a test win. i can remember ganguly,s
match-winning 98 n.o against srilanka under tremendous pressure. the
most impressive fact was his strike rate in tests. often it was better
than tendulkar,dravid and laxman. his centuries in debu series against
England, saved India from a disastrous 3-0 loss. he was not selected in
the first test, and India lost. even parash mamre, and sunil joshi
played that test!! his 144 against australia set the tone for the series
–and India drew 1-1 with the most powerful australian side with the
lights of hayden, langer, ponting, martin, mark and steve waugh,
gilchrist, mcgrath, warne, lee etc. still most of the times his records
were not recognised–and often it was deliberately done.

thanks a lot for your article. which inspires me to share my view in this context.

priya if you look at the stats you will find, it was agarkar who was the most successful against australia, and harbhajan against england under ganguly in the relevant series. unfortunately you are not aware of this facts. however this is not at all unexpected from a msd fan, whose test records in overseas as a batsman and a captain was horrible.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1198658595 Karthik Gangulian

The success that Ganguly had in Aus and Eng in 2002 and 2003 is because of kumble who picked wkts.//
Then the success of Dhobi’s was due to players performance.. U better know t stats and learn what cricket is.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Gautam-Mukerjee/1013500617 Gautam Mukerjee

Thanks Ranajoy for the new dimensions. Interesting Stats.
About the captaincy — MSD Inherited a great Team Created by Saurav after the Australian white wash, Sachin’s resignation and betting scandal taking away Azar, Jadeja and Mongia. Saurav taught us how to win abroad for the first time with consistancy. MSD is losing abroad with consistancy. He can’t quite figure out the 5 day test affair. Saurav created Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Kaif, Sehwag, Nehra, Zaheer and of course Dhoni — by fighting for their inclusion and giving them a long rope to prove their talent. And since then what do we have ?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Millan-Tripathy/1678389039 Millan Tripathy

bullshit article, this shows how bengali hate guys like tendulkar, dravid and can go to any extent to prove ganguly is a so called “legend”,

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1055610815 Rohit Bhattacharya

trust me we dont hate sachin or dravid. In fact calcutta is just as crazy about sachin as mumbai is. but yes we WILL go to any length to prove that Sourav’s a legend because that’s just the bloody truth, mate. There are no two ways to it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=724946966 Jakir Laskar

dear Millan Tripathy.. is not about Bengal..he has been played for India, so he is an Indian…try to think in broad way, can you find a true Indian in India? No, we are divided by Marathi, Gujarathi..south Indian..bla bla bla…

http://www.facebook.com/anirban.chatterji Anirban Chatterji

Brilliant Article. The facts have been articulated in a very crisp manner to show what Dada really is.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1198658595 Karthik Gangulian

Awesome Article.. Kudos to the writer.. Dada rocks always and he will remain in our hearts forever.. Miss u Dada.
Pradipta Mitra

Just Awesome article,Ranajoy Chakrabarty.I am a very very die-hard fan of DADA.To me he is “GOD”& one of the greatest test,ODI player of alltime.Hats off you for your beautiful article.Dadagiri rules forever.

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