The Hindu : Sport : Sourav Ganguly

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Monday, Dec 25, 2006
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Sourav Ganguly — firm and focussed

S. Dinakar

PHOTO: AFP

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Sourav Ganguly's never-say-die-attitude helped him script one of the remarkable comebacks in recent times.

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Durban : It was a largely wet Christmas eve here. The sky was painted in grey and the surging waves of the Indian Ocean appeared to get angrier by the minute.

Sourav Ganguly must be familiar with changing weather and fortunes; he had been captain one moment, dumped from the team the next.

This is precisely why, on what was an off-day for practice, Ganguly was the lone Indian batsman who travelled to Kingsmead for a session at the nets. This time he is not taking any chances.

Ganguly has displayed remarkable commitment on this campaign, both on and off the arena. He has been firm and focussed.

Big Four

After his heroics at the Wanderers, Dada is back. So is the feared Big Four. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman complete the Big Four. The halcyon days of the four (as a pack) was between 2000 and 2004. But the Big Four has some more gas left in the tank.

The new-look Ganguly — with a still head, straighter back-lift and much-improved footwork — adds a lot to the Indian batting at No. 6. Importantly, he is the lone left-hander in the line-up.

Both at Potchefstroom and during the first Test, the South African pacemen did not appear too comfortable bowling at southpaws.

The delivery moving away — or straightening — from the right-hander is the stock ball for the home pacemen. Ganguly forces them to change their line. They have not responded successfully.

Perhaps, someone like Makhaya Ntini — given his wide off the crease release and the resultant angle — can send the ball darting across the left-handers. But Ntini, at least at the Wanderers, was carried away by the short-pitched barrage.

More than wanting to prove a point to others, the 34-year-old Ganguly is keen on winning the respect of his peers; it is a matter of pride if not anything else.

Laxman at No. 5, and Ganguly at No. 6, add enormous value and experience to the line-up. South African captain Graeme Smith conceded this during the post-Test media conference in Johannesburg.

The records of Ganguly and Laxman are pretty much similar. Ganguly has 5297 runs in 89 Tests at 41.06 (12 hundreds). Laxman has compiled 4799 runs in 78 Tests at 42.84 (10 centuries). The left-hander has a marginal edge in the away records — 44.87 to Laxman's 43.22.

To the bowlers, they represent a major hurdle, once they get past the likes of Virender Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar. The pacemen's job is made harder by the fact that the Kookaburra ball might not be doing as much in the air when Laxman or Ganguly arrive in the middle.

A look at the two Indian efforts in Johannesburg would confirm the fact. India was 110 for four in the first innings when Ganguly walked in. He was still unconquered on a 101-ball 51 when the innings concluded at 249.

Resilient

These runs, perhaps, were the difference between another Indian disaster on the tour, and a famous victory. Ganguly was resilient, cleverly rallied with the tail. Then, on a dramatic second day, India was on an uncomfortable 41 for three, when Laxman stepped in. The elegant right-hander, then, closed all escape routes for the South Africans.

His 154-ball 73 was a beautifully carved out knock. Like Ganguly, he battled it out with the lower-order, constructed unlikely partnerships. When he was the eighth out at 218, India had batted South Africa out of the match.

The face-off between the South African pacemen and the Indian batting could decide the outcome of the second Test. India expects from Ganguly and Laxman.

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