He is the face who turned around Indian Cricket Team into a World-beater. Sourav Ganguly possessed a natural knack for leadership which is why he is considered one of the most successful captains in cricket. He was responsible for instilling ambition into a somewhat unfocused team when he took over the captaincy in 2000. Ganguly’s batting style was equally superb and he is the only cricketer to secure four consecutive Man of the Match awards in One Day International matches. Here are some of his top performances:
141* vs South Africa: In the 2nd semi-final of ICC Knock-Out trophy, Indian clashed with South Africa. Ganguly paired up with Sachin Tendulkar and opened the Innings for India. He smashed the ball throughout the ground and scored a massive 141.
96 and 33-2 vs Pakistan: In a match against Pakistan, in 1997-98 at Toronto, Ganguly scored a massive match-winning performance of 96. He smashed bowlers like Sahid Afridi, Aaquib Javed, and Azhar Mahmood all across the stadium. While bowling also, he picked up two wickets for just 33 runs at an economy of 3.3.
183 vs Sri Lanka: It was the 1999 World Cup. Ganguly opened the innings for India. He played an unbelievable knock. Ganguly along with Rahul Dravid made a record partnership of 324 runs. He alone scored 183 and it remained his highest score ever. He took just 158 deliveries and maintained a strike rate of 115. This was arguably his best performance ever.
90 vs England: Ganguly as a captain, always lead team India by example. During a match with England, India’s batting collapsed enormously. He scored an outstanding 90 by hitting five 4s and three 6s. This helped India reach a decent total of 204. He used his cricketing brains to perform the bowling changes and India bowled England out for 181. India won the match by 23 runs and Ganguly became the Man of the Match.
Sourav Ganguly certainly is one of the best left-handed cricketers ever have played.