"His highness, god of the offside"

Saurav Chandidas Ganguly

Born on 8th July 1972, in Kolkata,born on 8th July 1972, in Kolkata.
Ganguly made his One Day International debut for India against West Indies in 1992 and scored three runs. He was dropped immediately since he was perceived to be "arrogant" and his attitude towards the game was openly questioned. Following his heavy scoring in the domestic cricket,in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, he was recalled to the national side for the tour of England in 1996,amidst intense media scrutiny. He scored a century, becoming only the third cricketer to score a century on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but his 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at Lord's.

ONE DAY INTERNATIONALS & TEST MATCHES

TESTS     

  M    I   NO  Runs   HS     Ave     SR   100    50  

 113  188  17  7212  239    42.17  51.25   16    35

ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS

  M    I   NO  Runs   HS     Ave     SR   100    50  

 311  300  23  11363  183   41.02   73.70  22    72

He is an aggressive left-handed middle order batsman who opens in One-Dayers and also bowls right-handed military medium pace.

Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century in 1997, 113 runs against Sri Lanka. Later that year he won four consecutive man of the match awards in the Sahara Cup with Pakistan, the second of these was won after he took 5/16 off 10 overs, his best bowling in an ODI.

In the 1999 World Cup Ganguly scored 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton,in England. The innings took 158 balls and included 17 fours and 7 sixes. It is the second highest in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid was the highest ever in the World Cup.

CRICKET ACHIEVEMENTS

July 1996: Became one of the few cricketers who have scored a century on debut. He made his Test debut against England at Lords in 1996, and went on to score a century in the very next match as well. He joined another select brand of 3 batsman who made tons in their 1st two Test innings.

July 1996: Sourav was only the 3rd batsman in the world to score a century on debut at Lords. His 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at Lord’s.

Aug 1997: Completed 1000 ODI runs in 34 ODIs in a game against Sri Lanka.

Nov 1997: Completed 1000 Test runs in 15 Tests in a game against Sri Lanka.

1997: Became the first player to receive 5 consecutive Man of the Match awards in one-dayers in the Sahara 1997 Cup. He also won the Man of the Series.

1997: Scored 1000 runs in a calendar year (1338 runs) in ODI and made the highest number of runs by any player in ODI for 1997.

April 1998: Completed 2000 ODI runs in 65 ODIs in a game against Australia.

1998: Scored 1000 runs in a calendar year (1328 runs) in ODI.

Jan 1999: Completed 3000 ODI runs in 87 ODIs in a game against New Zealand.

Feb 1999: Completed 2000 Test runs in 27 Tests in a game against Sri Lanka.

Mar 1999: Sourav became one of the few distinct players in the World to score a century and take 4 wickets in an ODI match.

May 1999: Sourav’s highest one day score, a mammoth 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup was, at the time, the highest by an Indian in an ODI, breaking Kapil Dev’s record of 173.

May 1999: His 183 against Sri Lanka remains the highest by an Indian in a World Cup.

May 26 1999: Was involved in the 2nd highest partnership in ODIs: a 318-run partnership with Dravid vs. SL in the 99 World Cup. Rahul & Sourav became the 1st pair to put up a 300 run partnership in ODIs.

Aug 1999: Completed 4000 ODI runs in 110 ODIs in a game against Sri Lanka.

1999: Sourav bagged as many as 8 Man of the Match awards in the year!

1999: Scored 1000 runs in a calendar year (1767 runs) in ODI and made the highest number of runs by any player in ODI for 1999.

Jan 2000: Completed 5000 ODI runs in 131 ODIs in a game against Pakistan.

Feb 2000: Became the captain of the Indian team when Sachin Tendulkar stepped down in Feb of 2000.

Oct 2000: Fastest in the world to complete 6000 ODI runs in 152 ODIs in a game against Zimbabwe.

2000: Scored 1000 runs in a calendar year (1579 runs) in ODI and made the highest number of runs by any player in ODI for 2000.

2001: Sourav and Sachin became one of the most successful opening pairs ever in one-day cricket!

Mar 2001: In the 2nd Test vs. Australia at Kolkata in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sourav became only the 3rd captain in Cricket history to lead a team to victory after following on. India went on to win the series 2-1!

Oct 2001: Fastest in the world to complete 7000 ODI runs in 180 ODIs in a game against Kenya.

Nov 2001: Completed 3000 Test runs in 47 Tests in a game against South Africa.

2001: Sourav and Tendulkar were involved in a World Record Opening Partnership of 252.

Sep 2002: Completed 4000 Test runs in 62 Tests in a game against England.

Nov 2002: Fastest in the world to complete 8000 ODI runs in 208 ODIs in a game against WI.

2002: Scored 1000 runs in a calendar year (1114 runs) in ODI.

March 2003: Became the 1st Indian Captain in 2 decades to take his team to the World Cup Final!

2003 World Cup: Became the 2nd highest century maker in ODIs, after Sachin Tendulkar.

Jan 2004: Led his team to a 1-1 series draw against Australia and retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy (2003-2004).

Jan 2004: Fastest in the world to complete 9000 ODI runs in 236 ODIs in a game against Australia.

2004: Became the fastest player to score 9,000 runs in ODIs (in just 236 matches and 228 innings), breaking fellow teammate Sachin Tendulkar's record of 242 ODIs.

Mar - Apr 2004: Became the first Indian captain to win an ODI and Test series in Pakistan.

April 2004: Became India’s most successful Test captain, with 18 test wins in just five years, of which 9 have come on foreign soil. No other Indian Captain has achieved such a feat.

May 2004: Joined the top 20 list of players who hit the most sixes in Test cricket, with 41 sixes.

Feb 2005: Climbed to the #3 spot in the list of most sixes hit by a batsman in ODI with 168 sixes in 247 matches.

April 2005: Became only the 3rd cricketer and 2nd Indian after Mohammed Azharuddin to make 5000 ODI runs as skipper in the Pepsi Cup vs. Pakistan.

August 2005: Sourav's fifty in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka in the tri-nation series in Sri Lanka helped him pass 10,000 runs in ODIs. He was only the 3rd cricketer and 2nd Indian to achieve this rare feat.

December 2006: After being out of the side because of politics for 10 months, Dada is RECALLED to the Indian Team for the South Africa Test series after India recd a drubbing at the hands of the hosts in the ODI series, losing 0-4. This is the 1st test team selection after Kiran More stepping down and Vengsarkar taking over as Chief Selector.

Jan 2007: Dada emerges the highest run-getter for India in the South Africa Test series with 2 50s and 214 runs in all. Silences decorators within and outside the team with his remarkable return to Test cricket.

Jan 2007: After a terrific comeback into the Test side, Dada is recalled into the ODI team after a gap of 1 and a half years. The Maharaj makes a brilliant comeback in one-dayers also with an explosive 98 off 110 balls. Dada is back on top and is hailed by fans and critics alike.

Feb 12, 07: After scoring 168 runs in the home series vs WI at an average of 56.08, Dada is picked in the final 15 men squad for the World Cup in the Caribbean. His dream finally comes true!

Feb 2007: Dada is awarded the MAN OF THE SERIES award in the home series vs. SL for making the most runs in the series - 168 runs in 3 games at an average of 84.00! In the six matches since his recall, Dada scores four 50s. Across the country, he is hailed as the "KING OF COMEBACKS" for making one of the strongest comebacks ever in the history of cricket. This award comes in only his 2nd series after the recall and after a gap of 6 yrs.

June 2007: With their 134 run open partnership against South Africa in the 2nd ODI of the Future Cup in Belfast, Sourav and Sachin Tendulkar registered their 17th 100-run open stand to become the most successful opening pair in ODI cricket history. Sourav and Sachin reclaimed their record after Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden had edged past in Feb 2007.

August 2007: Sourav reaches 11,000 ODI runs in the 3rd ODI against England in the Natwest Series. He is only the second Indian after Tendulkar and fourth player in the world to achieve the feat. He is also the second fastest after Tendulkar to reach 11k.

September 2007: Sourav is only the 4th Indian player and 8th overall to reach 300 one-day internationals in the 5th ODI vs. England in the Natwest Series at Leeds. Dada celebrated his 300th ODI in style with a man-of-the match performance that bought India back into the 7-ODI series after being 3-1 down.

September 2007: Sachin and Sourav put their 19th century open-partnership together in the 5th ODI vs. England in the Natwest Series at Leeds, crossing 6,000 runs as an opening pair - the highest ever in ODI cricket.

September 2007: Dada reaches 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODI. Since his comeback in January 2007, Dada has played 20 games in which he scored 1000 runs at an average of over 55.

November 2007: Dada reaches 100 ODI wickets with the wicket of Shahid Afridi in the 4th ODI vs. Pakistan at Gwalior. Sourav is only the 3rd player ever to score 10,000 runs and take 100 wickets in ODI after Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.

December 2007: Dada completes 6000 Test runs in 2nd Test against Pakistan at Kolkata. Also hits 1st Test hundred in front of home crowd at Eden Gardens.

December 2007: Dada hits 15th Test hundred to bring up back-to-back tons in the 3rd Test against Pakistan in Bangalore. Sourav has achieved this feat three times in his career - on debut, against Sri Lanka in 1997/98 and against Pakistan in 2007.

December 2007: Dada reaches 1000 runs in a calendar year in Tests for the 1st time in his career in the 2nd innings of the 3rd Test.

December 2007: Dada is awarded the MAN OF THE SERIES in the India-Pakistan Test series at home. Sourav a whopping 534 runs in 3 Tests at an average of 89.00. Sourav scored 8, 48, 102, 46, 239, and 91 in 6 innings. He also took 4 wickets to take India to a 1-0 series win over Pakistan. Dada was the highest scorer in the series.

December 2007: Dada is only the 7th Indian to reach 100 Test matches.

March 2008: Dada receives Young Achiever's award for being an inspiration to youngsters.

April 2008: Sourav is awarded man of the match for his match winning 87 in the 1st innings of the low scoring 3rd Test at Kanpur against South Africa, April 13 2008.

June 2008: Sourav swept top honors at the 1st Castrol Asian Cricket Awards in Karachi. He was adjuged "Castrol Asian Cricketer of the Year" and "Castrol Best Asian Batsman of the Year" for being the highest run-getter in Asia in 2007.

October 2008: Dada reached 7,000 Test runs in Mohali in the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. He is only the 4th Indian cricketer after Dravid, Tendulkar, and Gavaskar to reach the milestone.

November 2008: Sourav walked into the sunset in the 2008 Border-Gavaskar. Like Sir Don Bradman, he was out for a golden duck in his last innings, but Dada did score his 17th Test Century in his final series.

"look at someone who has a lot to learn, be different and prove your critics wrong"

To the god of offside... and the most magnificent sixes ever hit on the field...