Just like Pakistan had Javed Miandad and Sri Lanka had Arjuna Ranatunga, when it came to being Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of the Australians, India had Sourav Ganguly. These three players have the same personality.
They loved being out their in the middle sticking it to the Australians, they loved knowing that they are getting under the skin of their opponents and most infuriating to the Australians, they could play.
The Australians don’t like being on the receiving end nearly as much as they like dishing it out and Ganguly was up with the best of them when it came to fighting fire with fire.
The 2001 series was his finest hour.
He knew how much the Australians wanted to win in India; how badly Steve Waugh wanted it, but he was firm, resolute and unyielding.
As Waugh would later write in his book, “I saw in Sourav a committed individual who wanted to inject some toughness and combativeness into a side that had often tended in the past to roll over and expose a soft underbelly.”
Once he retired and he had time to reflect, Waugh couldn’t help but admire his nemesis because ultimately the two weren’t that different.
“You don’t have to like or dislike him. You have to respect him,” Waugh said. “He’s tough and has played for a long time. There are certain things that rub people up the wrong way but that’s just him.”
Just like Waugh he was the ultimate competitor. “He’s the type of bloke you would want to have on your side. When you see an Indian side with Ganguly in the line-up, you know it’s game on.”
Similarly Ganguly is a member of the mutual admiration society.
“Whatever has happened, it’s an effort to win Test matches. Waugh is probably one of my role models and he is a champion player. He didn’t want to lose wherever they went. He lifted Australian cricket.”
The second Test of the series is the 22nd match Ganguly has played against Australia.
After the First Test he was averaging 32.91 against Australia compared to 41.93 overall. With just one century and six 50s against the Australians, he would have loved to have done better against them but that was Ganguly. Get in, stir up some trouble, get out.
A good batsman, but the Australians wouldn’t have held him in the same regard as Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid.
More nuisance value with emphasis on the nuisance.
He was enigmatic.
He had numerous off-field distractions. He could be frustrating. Three of the four times he was run out in Test cricket were against Australia. How else can you explain a batsman of his quality getting out to Brad Hogg more than any other Australian bowler?
Did he compromise some of his own game for the sake of the team? In injecting some steel into the side, did he do this at his own expense?
History will record that right or wrong he was a player which did it his way and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
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