SOURAV GOES BACK TO SCHOOL!!!

GANGULY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL :

Source: Cricket 360 Date: March 16, 2009

Most Indian cricket players, both present and past tend to have their pet projects of some sort and Sourav Ganguly is no exception. He was in the cricket news recently for declaring his plans to open a school in Salt Lake; a modern state of the art school to impart education in the ICSE and European boards. Starting at the pre primary level, education will be imparted up to the graduate level and will be christened Wissen International.

International cricket players dabbling in the restaurant business is passé, Sourav Ganguly has been there, done that. He is now into the business of academics and will be opening a school in the Salt Lake area, with the initial investment of Rs. 20 crores. Ganguly was reported in the cricket news as saying he would be starting the school next year now that he is retired from international cricket and has the time to devote to the project.

"I will start a school at Salt Lake next year. I've always been interested in working with kids, but have been too preoccupied with international cricket and its demanding schedule. Now that I have retired and have some time, the school project will take priority. After two more seasons of Indian Premier League, I will be involved full-time in the school project," he was reported as having said.

The school will begin from preprimary and go on up till graduate course in each stream, and will boast state-of-the-art classrooms, auditorium, swimming pool and audio visual room. Reportedly there will be a tie-up with Videocon Cricket Academy for students to hone their cricketing skills as well. Construction of the school is underway and another such school will also open in Siliguri later.

The idea of the school was first mooted almost 10 years ago by Sourav’s maths teacher Anindya Majumdar. "Sourav was one of the best students I have had, good at both academics and sports. Sometime in the late 1990s, when Sourav was scoring runs at a prolific rate and had become an icon, he wanted to do something for the people here. It was then that I suggested the school venture. He took to the proposal immediately. But soon thereafter, he became captain of the team and the school project was put on the backburner. It was revived a couple of years ago. After he bids farewell to IPL, he will be totally involved in the school activity," said Majumdar.

Ganguly, who has always been interested in working with children, is expected to have a hands on involvement with the school. "Sourav will have hands-on involvement in the school when the first batch of Class X students pass out in 2014," added Majumdar. It will be a switch for Ganguly; cricket to academics, but then according to his teacher he was always a very good student"

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Dada's Milestones

January 11, 1992

Makes his ODI debut, his only international on the tour of Australia. Scores 3 and is duly dropped. His highest score on the tour is 29, against Queensland.

June 21 and 22, 1996
Test debut is different
In his first Test, at Lord's, scores an imperious century. Follows it up with another century in the very next Test at Trent Bridge, on July 4.

October 23, 1996
Quite a sighter
In his 11th one-dayer, in Jaipur, opens the innings for the first time, against South Africa. This is the first time the greatest opening combination in ODI history, him and Sachin Tendulkar, comes together. He scores 54, Tendulkar 64, in a 126-run stand.

August 20, 1997
Has a ball in Sri Lanka
Playing against Sri Lanka, scores his first ODI century, in his 32nd match, in Colombo. This innings follows a 147 in the second Test, an innings instrumental in drawing the Test.

September, 1997
If it's Toronto, it has to be Ganguly
High point of his career. Is the leading scorer and wicket-taker in the Sahara Cup. With 222 runs at 55.5 and 15 wickets at 10.66, he wins four Man-of-the-Match awards in five matches, and is the most unanimous Man of the Series, as India beat Pakistan 4-1.

November-December, 1997
Whipping Sri Lanka, round 2
With 392 runs at an average of 98, ends the three-Test home series against Sri Lanka as top scorer and Man of the Series.

January 18, 1998
Setting up a famous chase
Scores 124 against Pakistan in the then highest successful run-chase in ODI history, as India score 316 in 47.5 overs to win the Independence Cup in Dhaka.

July 7, 1998
Whipping Sri Lanka, round 3
Scores 109 against Sri Lanka in Colombo, in the then highest opening stand in ODIs. He and Tendulkar (128) put together 252 runs as India win the Singer-Akai-Nidahas Trophy final by six runs.

May 26, 1999
Whipping Sri Lanka, round 4
A day when he, in partnership, looks like breaking every batting record in the book. His 183 in Taunton is the then highest ODI score by an Indian; the 318-run partnership with Rahul Dravid (145) is the then highest partnership ever; and India's 373 for 6 is the then second-largest ODI total.

September, 1999
Captaincy calibre
Captains India for the first time in the Coca-Cola Singapore Challenge tournament, against West Indies, as Tendulkar is rested due to a sore back. Barely a week later, he leads India again in the DMC Cup - with Tendulkar skipping the tournament due to an injury - against West Indies. India win the series 2-1.

February, 2000
County calling
Signs up to replace Muttiah Muralitharan as Lancashire's overseas cricketer.

February 26, 2000
Tendulkar resigns, Ganguly obliges
Is named captain of the Indian team for the five-ODI home series against South Africa. The announcement comes after Tendulkar has resigned from captaincy. At the prime of his one-day form, he ends the series as top run-getter, and India win a closely fought series. Is named full-time captain after the series.

March 21, 2001
Final frontier remains
End of a month of enthralling Test cricket. Ganguly is the leading face of a brash, aggressive Indian team who come back from an impossible situation to beat Australia 2-1. Is vindicated as a captain.

November, 2001
Tête-à-tête with match-referee
In an unprecedented and highly controversial action, Ganguly and five other Indian players are summoned by Mike Denness, the match-referee, and warned for excessive appealing during the Port Elizabeth Test. He is also accused of not controlling his players, and is punished with a suspended ban for one Test match and two one-day international matches. India lose the three-Test series 2-0, and the third is deemed unofficial by the ICC amid threats of a revolt by India and the BCCI.

 July 13, 2002
Paying them in the same currency
Is seen waving his shirt emphatically at the Lord's balcony as an incredible win in the NatWest Series final caps off impressive back-to-back tours of West Indies and England. India had lost their last nine finals in a row, six under Ganguly. He scores a century in the Test series that follows. India draw the series 1-1.

March 20, 2003
Promised land
Scores a century in the World Cup semi-final as India make it to the final for the first time since 1983.

December 7, 2003
Leading from the front
In Brisbane, scores a brilliant counter-attacking century in a tricky situation to set the tone for Indian batsmen on the Australian tour.

April 16, 2004
Neighbours won over
Becomes the first Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan. Also with 15 Test wins, he becomes India's most successful captain. India win the five-ODI series too by a margin of 3-2.

October 10, 2004
Beginning of the false end
India lose the first Test against Australia in Bangalore by 217 runs. He struggles both as a batsman and as a captain, and his withdrawal from the last two Tests due to injury leads to much media speculation and controversy. Australia capture the final frontier with a 2-1 series win.

March 28, 2005
Decline continues
The signs of his decline are obvious after a dismal showing in a drawn series at home against Pakistan. Pakistan side triumphs in the decider at Bangalore, virtually signalling the end of the successful Ganguly-Wright relationship. Ganguly scores 48 runs in the series, at 9.60.

April 12, 2005
Bad gets worse
After the fourth ODI against Pakistan, with the six-match ODI series tied 2-2, he is banned for six matches for a slow-over rate and has to watch from the sidelines as India go down 2-4 to Pakistan.

September 15, 2005
After hundred, comes nadir
A slow hundred against a depleted Zimbabwe sends the critics into raptures, only for the controversial Ganguly-Greg Chappell saga to blow up in everyone's faces. Ganguly goes public with his dismay at Chappell's suggestions during the match that he step down from the captaincy, and the media goes wild. Chappell is not amused, maintaining that the Indian captain asked him for his honest opinion on his form and leadership in a private meeting between the two. The tour goes on, with India unsurprisingly beating Zimbabwe 2-0. On the team's return to India Ganguly is publicly ostracised and there are more and more calls for his sacking. Forty-eight hours after saying that he respected the Indian captain and looked forward to working with him in the future, Chappell fires off a damning memorandum to the BCCI.

 October 21, 2005
Refusal to die
Hits a century in the Duleep Trophy match against a strong North Zone attack to remind the world that he is not done yet.


November 22, 2005
Passes the thorny baton
The selectors end his five-year reign as Test captain when they pick Rahul Dravid to lead India in the Tests against Sri Lanka.

January to March, 2006
Uninvited
Is picked for the Test series in Pakistan. Does not bat in the first Test, is dropped for the second, and scores 34 and 37 in the third in Karachi. His performance isn't enough to secure a spot in the one-day series that followed. Is not picked for the home Tests against England.

December 7, 2006
Beginning of the end of the end
India are doing miserably in South Africa, having lost all the one-dayers. Ganguly is picked for the Tests. India are 1 for 2, 37 for 3, 59 for 4 against Rest of South Africa in Potchefstroom. Ganguly comes in and scores 83, India win, and take momentum into the Test series.

December 15, 2006
Riposte continues
Scores a half-century with the tail in the Johannesburg Test, as India reach a crucial 249 and bowl South Africa out for 84. They go on to win by 123 runs, but lose in the final Test to squander an opportunity for a rare series win. Ganguly is the leading run-getter for India.

January 21, 2007
ODIs, here I come, again
In Nagpur, on his ODI comeback, scores 98 against West Indies. India go on to score 338 and win by 14 runs.

May 18-19, 2007
I have been expecting you, Test ton
Scores an even 100 in Chittagong, his third century in three-and-a-half years. His last two centuries are Bulawayo, 2005 and Brisbane, 2003.

July-August, 2007
Feels like home in England
Scores 249 runs at 49.80 in India's series win in England, and has secured his place in both Test and ODI sides.

November-December, 2007
E-done and double delight
Scores his first Test century at Eden Gardens, his home ground, and follows it up with his first double-century, in Bangalore. Pakistan are at the receiving end, as he top-scores with 534 runs in three Tests at an average of 89, and is the Man of the Series.


December 2007-January 2008
Beginning of another false end?
A mixed Test series in Australia (235 runs at 29.37, two half-centuries) is followed up by the ODI axe for the CB Series in Australia.

 April 12, 2008
Mastering the Mean Street
On an under-prepared, dual-paced pitch in Kanpur, Ganguly scores a serene 87 to help India level the three-Test series against South Africa. Later calls it one of his best Test innings.

October 7, 2008
'I've decided to quit'
Two days before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, announces it will be his last series. There have been talks doing the rounds that the BCCI has been trying to force the seniors into retirmement. He first denies such notions in a press conference, and then when the presser is over, makes the announcement. "Just one last thing lads, before I leave," he says. "I just want to say that this is going to be my last series. I've decided to quit. I told my team-mates before coming here. These four Test matches are going to be my last and hopefully we'll go on a winning note."

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WHY SOURAV GANGULY IS A BEST CAPTAIN?

Why Sourav Best Captain

• Captain is born not made. Leadership is your trait –in your genre. Either you have it or you don't have. There is no in between. Sourav like England's Mike Brearley or Nasser Hussain should be in the team because of his leadership qualities. Unlike Brearley, whose Test batting averagewas under 23 or Hussain whose Test average was 37, Sourav's average is nearly 41. In the 2003-04 series against Australia, Sourav's century at Brisbane set the tone for one of the best performance by India in an away series. it is beyond doubt that he has brought the killer instinctto the Indian team that was sorely lacking

• No wonder every Indian skipper goes through a bad phase. Azharuddin being a prime example .same goes for Dravid. Generally when he leads India, his batting nosedives. Consider this. In Tests, as a player he averages 60.46, as a skipper his average 17.25.
In one-dayers, as a player he averages 40.22, as a skipper 29.22. It's no different abroad. Take for example Michael Vaughan, England's highly successful skipper, as a player in Test his average is 50.98, as a captain it is down to 35.94, lower than even Ganguly's 37.03. All batsmen go through bad patches. Even Rahul Dravid has gone through this phase. In 1999-00 during a 13-month period he went through 16 innings without a fifty.

• Sourav is an expert in "Man Management". Words such as 'Groups' and 'Camps' have vanished from the Indian dressing room. That is why we saw the name "Team India" because in Ganguly's era there is no in-fighting. The other great asset of Sourav is that he has risen over parochial interests and backed players on their talent. That is indeed revolutionary when compared to the policies of the past skippers who made it open secret in picking their favourites. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, from Jharkhand, Kaif from Uttar Pradesh, but they are all equal in Ganguly's eye. The only thing he believes in is talent.
Yuvraj Singh, Kaif, Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Sanjay Bangar, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan, Dinesh Kartik, Dhoni, Balaji, Nehra all have done India proud because Sourav have backed them through thick and thin. Even Players like Srinath gave his best while coming back to limited overs cricket under
Sourav Ganguly.

• Sourav has won six Test matches away from home, a huge improvement over any other skipper

Sourav as Captain for Team India :
There is no debate over the very fact that Sourav has rechristened Indian cricket in last five years—2000 to 2005. Indians have never had a captain who has looked at the opposition in the eye and forced them on the backfoot even before a ball is bowled.Azhar, Sachin, Srikkanth, Kapil and Gavaskar did not have the sort of aggression which Sourav does! As a player and a captain he has given a new looked Men-in-Blue, a blend of youth and experience. This team proved its merit as it raced to the finals of the World Cup 2003.

He has never shied away from responsibilities and always stood up for his boys. Perhaps for the first time Indian cricket got a captain whorose above petty parochial regionalism and fought with BCCI to selectthe best talents available in the country. Few promising youngsterslike Juvraj ,Harvajan ,Pathan , Dhoni or player like Sehwag –all are mentored during the tenure of Sourav . Below statistics vividly manifests the very fact that he is always a big tournament player and big challenge motivates him immensely. He literally brandised Indian cricket with the help of his Men -in -Blue.

The performance in one day is also comparable like test. Here also the same out of 147 matches where he led team India, in 76 matches India won and in those matches Sourav’s average 51.37, only re strengthen the very fact Sourav Ganguly can easily claim the lions share as batsman and captain in team’s success .His performance is quite magnificent in world cup and ICC championship where his average is resounding 58.12 and flabbergasting 83! I think after all these statistics there should not be any further argument over the fact –who is real mentor of Team India. As captain and as a batsman – it is Sourav Ganguly –“The Prince of Calcutta”.

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SOURAV"S CLASSIC INNINGS LIST

SOURAV"S BEST INNINGS :

131 vs. England, 1996 –

It just doesn't get better than a debut ton at Lord's. India had lost the first Test by 8 wickets, and with Manjrekar injured, the visitors were staring down the barrel. And at this opportune moment, the 'God of the off-side' took centre-stage with a sweetly timed century. He followed it up with 136 in the next Test at Nottingham, helping India to draw the last two Tests, and with 315 runs at 105.00, the second highest run-getter after Sachin Tendulkar; he won the man-of-the-series award in his very first Test series.

144 vs. Australia, 2003 –

Nobody in India gave the team a shot at troubling the Aussies in spite of the 2001 upset, and Justin Langer rubbed it in when Australia were 262 for 2 after Day One of the first test. The series was not over though, like some local newspapers suggested, Zaheer picked up five to keep India fighting. Soon India was struggling instead, at 4 for 127.
Fighting self-doubt against the short pitched stuff as well as hostile seaming conditions, the 'Bengal Tiger' came out roaring his loudest and audiences the world over were treated to a magically bold innings from the Indian captain, as he pierced the field with his immaculate shot selection. It was as if the clock was wound back to 1996 Lord's, and thus without an iota of doubt, it remains his best knock ever.

5 for 16 vs. Pakistan, 1997 –

For the last time, Ganguly isn't an all rounder! He is a batsman who sometimes bowls, that too military-medium stuff really, and effective mostly when the ball is swinging like a yo-yo. And thus, aided by fabulous conditions for swing bowling, a murky day, dark cloud cover, green top wicket and some careless Pakistani batsmen, the southpaw ran through the opposition batting line-up. And from then on, it really became his series as he scored 222 runs with two fifties and 15 wickets. Another man-of-the-series performance!

124 vs. Pakistan, 1998 –

If there was one performance that brought out his never-say-die spirit, this was it. Chasing a world record 315 against arch rivals Pakistan in dying light at Dhaka, Sourav, along with Sachin, first took the new ball bowlers to the cleaners and then strung up a vital 3rd wicket partnership with Robin Singh. When India lost quick wickets, again, all seemed lost. With visibility ridiculously low, Ganguly refused to leave the pitch and continued batting, till he was finally out for 124. In the end, Hrishikesh Kanitkar held his nerve to pull off a famous victory.

183 vs. Sri Lanka, 1999 –

It was a bad day to be a Sri Lankan on a cricket field. India were staring at exit from the World Cup after just one win out of three matches and this was a must win game for them. Ganguly and Dravid began the rescue act after Sadagopan Ramesh left early, and the duo was again in command in the familiar English conditions. Punishing even the best of deliveries, they put on 318 for the 2nd wicket as Ganguly strode on to a career best score including 17 fours and 7 sixes. One of those sixes was hit so hard that it sailed right out of the County Ground, Taunton. Since the ball could not be retrieved, it was presumed to have been hit into the stream flowing next to the stadium.


141* vs. South Africa, 2000 –

The Champions Trophy in Kenya, or the ICC Knock-Out as it was called then, will always be remembered for the firebrand captaincy that Ganguly first brought to the team. Zaheer and Yuvraj made their debuts here, Australia were handed a first round shock, and then it was the turn of the Proteas. Dada himself was on fire, leading the run-charts with two consecutive hundreds in the semis and the finals. Although India lost the final, thanks to Chris Cairns' assault, this particular innings of 141, complete with quick singles, eleven hits to the fence and six over it, was instrumental in heralding Ganguly as one of the truly great opening batsmen in the ODI game.

90* vs. Sri Lanka, 2001 –

Now, this is one of his finest Test innings even though it wasn't a ton. Up until then, it was also his best 'captain's knock'. With Sachin missing out on the tour due to injury, no Laxman either and the first Test lost, India arrived at Kandy battling a series loss. Thanks to seamer friendly conditions, Zaheer Khan and Venkatesh Prasad took 14 wickets between them to set India a target of 264. It was a tough ask considering the middle order hinged solely on Dravid and Ganguly. But they didn't disappoint, stringing a 91-run partnership and the captain saw his side to victory.

128 vs. England, 2002 –

Diwali came early that English summer! The series was finely poised as England won the first test at Lord's comfortably, while India fought back to draw the second at Nottingham. Ganguly got a ninety there as well, but it was at Leeds that the stage got meticulously set for a famous Indian victory. Batting first on a treacherous track, Dravid continued his rich vein of form, seeing off the first day with yet another ton. The second day Sachin and Sourav came to the party with a 249 run fest, smacking the ball to all parts of the ground, refusing to go off even when the lights dimmed. India ran up a huge 628 and needless to say, won by an innings to spare.

111* vs. Kenya, 2003 –

Well, it was Kenya many might say. But the truth is that the semis of a World Cup are a pressure situation against any team and the wicket was indeed fiendishly slow, the outfield sluggish. Together with Sachin, he put the match beyond the grasp of the shock semi-finalists and any thoughts of an upset were soon disdainfully waved away. The more important point is that it was his last ODI ton, his last ever.


239 vs. Pakistan, 2007 –

His only Test double ton came against the traditional arch rivals at Bangalore and it was well timed too. India was 4 for 61 when he came together with Yuvraj, as the two bludgeoned the Pakistani attack for 300 runs. Even as his partner fell, Dada kept going to score his maiden double hundred in Test cricket, and for the first time in his career, crossed the 500-runs mark in a Test series.


Given all his firecracker antics at the crease over the years, we will miss him when the test team will be announced for the India-X series now onwards

SOURAV'S FAVOURITES:
IN TESTS:
131 — Lord’s, 1996, the Test hundred on debut
128 — Leeds, 2002, his ninth Test hundred
144 — Brisbane, 2003-04, the only Test hundred in Australia
87 — Kanpur, 2007-08, an innings which helped India win the Test and draw the series vs. SA
239 — Bangalore, 2007-08, the career-best effort which came against Pakistan

IN ODIs
183 — Taunton, 1999, in the World Cup against Sri Lanka
96 — Toronto, 1997-98, against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup
141* — Nairobi, 2000-01, against South Africa in the ICC Knockout semi-finals
117 — Nairobi, 2000-01, against New Zealand in the ICC Knockout final
111*— Durban, 2002-03, against Kenya in the World Cup semi-finals.
Incidentally, his 22nd and last ODI hundred

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