New Delhi: Former India captain and the ex-president of BCCI, Sourav Ganguly celebrates his 52nd birthday on Monday, July 07. Regarded as one of India’s greatest captains of all time, Ganguly is often credited with transforming the team under his leadership and instilling self-belief along with fearlessness in the players.
Hailed as the ‘Dada’ of Indian cricket, Ganguly successfully laid the foundation for the rise of Indian cricket by nurturing the next generation during his captaincy. While he led India to new-found success overseas and helped the team clinch some memorable victories in major tournaments and series, Ganguly played a key role in developing a core group of players, who earned India tremendous success across all formats in the future.
Ganguly took over as India’s captain four years after making his Test debut at Lord’s. He struck back-to-back centuries on his Test debut against England to announce his arrival to the world. Ganguly was appointed as India’s captain in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal but did exceptionally well to bail the team out of trouble.
He quickly focused on developing a new core and groomed youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag among others, who later went on to play a key role in India’s dominance in world cricket. Under Ganguly’s leadership, India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia 2-1 at home while making it to the final of the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000.
In what remains an iconic moment in Indian cricket history, Ganguly took off his shirt and waived it at the Lord’s balcony after India pulled off a famous victory in the final of the Natwest Trophy against England. India also reached the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup under Ganguly where they lost to Australia.
4️⃣2️⃣4️⃣ intl. matches
1️⃣8️⃣5️⃣7️⃣5️⃣ intl. runs 👌🏻
3️⃣8️⃣ intl. centuries 💯
Here’s wishing former #TeamIndia Captain and former BCCI President @SGanguly99 a very Happy Birthday. 👏 🎂 pic.twitter.com/uxMdtS2fFA
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 8, 2024
While he was a formidable captain, Ganguly was an equally good batter and shattered several records with his bat. He finished his international career with 11363 runs in 311 ODIs and 7212 runs in 113 Test matches. On his 52nd birthday, here is a look at some top records held by the former India captain which might never be broken.
5 unbreakable records held by Sourav Ganguly:
1) Highest individual score by an Indian in ODI World Cup history
Sourav Ganguly holds the record for the highest-ever individual score by an Indian batter in the history of the ODI World Cup. He smashed a sensational knock of 183 runs off 158 balls against Sri Lanka in Taunton during the 1999 ODI World Cup. 183 remains the highest individual score by an Indian in the competition.
2) 4 consecutive Man of the Match awards in ODIs
Sourav Ganguly holds a rare record of bagging the most consecutive Man of the Match awards in ODI history. Ganguly won Man of the Match awards in an impressive four matches in a row in India’s series against Pakistan in Toronto in 1997.
3) Highest individual score by a left-hander for India in Tests
Sourav Ganguly also holds the record for the highest individual score by a left-hander for India in Test history. The former India captain slammed a brilliant knock of 239 runs in a Test match against Pakistan in Bengaluru in 2007. His 239 remains the highest individual score by an Indian in the longest format.
4) Highest individual score in a Champions Trophy final
Sourav Ganguly is also the owner of the record for the highest individual score by any batter in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. Ganguly scored 117 runs for India in the Champions Trophy (ICC Knockout Trophy) final against New Zealand in 2000. No batter has managed to better Ganguly’s score in the final of the tournament ever since.
5) Highest partnership for India in ODI World Cup history
Sourav Ganguly was involved in the highest partnership for India in the ODI World Cup history when he combined with Rahul Dravid to share a 318-run stand against Sri Lanka in Taunton in the 1999 World Cup. Ganguly slammed 183 while Dravid scored 145 runs as the duo added 318 runs for the 2nd wicket in the match.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly celebrates his 52nd birthday on Monday, July 08. One of the greatest captains to have led India, here is a look at five near;y unbreakable records held by the Dada of Indian cricket. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
