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Sourav Ganguly

India

Full name Sourav Chandidas Ganguly

Born July 8, 1972, Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal

Current age 37 years 126 days

Major teams India, Asia XI, Bengal, East Zone, Glamorgan, India Under-19s, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lancashire, Northamptonshire

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm medium

Height 5 ft 11 in

Education St Xavier's College

Relation Brother - Snehasish C Ganguly

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	113	188	17	7212	239	42.17	14070	51.25	16	35	900	57	71
ODIs	311	300	23	11363	183	41.02	15416	73.70	22	72	1122	190	100
First-class	242	383	43	14933	239	43.92			31	85			165
List A	426	410	42	15278	183	41.51			31	94			130
Twenty20	44	41	2	915	91	23.46	864	105.90	0	4	93	30	14

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w
Tests	113	99	3117	1681	32	3/28	3/37	52.53	3.23	97.4	0	0
ODIs	311	171	4561	3849	100	5/16	5/16	38.49	5.06	45.6	1	2
First-class	242		10968	6040	164	6/46		36.82	3.30	66.8		4
List A	426		7949	6454	168	5/16	5/16	38.41	4.87	47.3	4	2
Twenty20	44	30	489	618	27	3/27	3/27	22.88	7.58	18.1	0	0

Career statistics

Test debut	England v India at Lord's, Jun 20-24, 1996 scorecard
Last Test	India v Australia at Nagpur, Nov 6-10, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	India v West Indies at Brisbane, Jan 11, 1992 scorecard
Last ODI	India v Pakistan at Gwalior, Nov 15, 2007 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class debut	1989/90
Last First-class	Bengal v Goa at Delhi, Dec 18-21, 2008 scorecard
List A debut	1989/90
Last List A	Orissa v Bengal at Kolkata, Feb 21, 2009 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Glamorgan v Somerset at Cardiff, Jun 22, 2005 scorecard
Last Twenty20	Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals at Durban, May 20, 2009 scorecard

Profile

Some felt he couldn't play the bouncer, others swore that he was God on the off-side; some laughed at his lack of athleticism, others took immense pride in his ability to galvanise a side. Sourav Ganguly's ability to polarise opinion led to one of the most fascinating dramas in Indian cricket. Yet, nobody can dispute that he was India's most successful Test captain - forging a winning unit from a bunch of talented, but directionless, individuals - and nobody can argue about him being one of the greatest one-day batsmen of all time. Despite being a batsman who combined grace with surgical precision in his strokeplay, his career had spluttered to a standstill before being resurrected by a scintillating hundred on debut at Lord's in 1996. Later that year, he was promoted to the top of the order in ODIs and, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed one of the most destructive opening pairs in history.

When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing exposes in 2000, he quickly proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. Under his stewardship India started winning Test matches away, and put together a splendid streak that took them all the way to the World Cup final in 2003. Later that year, in Australia, an unexpected and incandescent hundred at Brisbane set the tone for the series where India fought the world's best team to a standstill. Victory in Pakistan turned him into a cult figure but instead of being a springboard for greater things, it was the peak of a slippery slope.

The beginning of the end came in 2004 at Nagpur - when his last-minute withdrawal played a part in Australia clinching the series - and things went pear shaped when his loss of personal form coincided with India's insipid ODI performances. Breaking point was reached when his differences with Greg Chappell leaked into public domain and his career was in jeopardy when India began their remarkable revival under Rahul Dravid.

His gritty 30s at Karachi, when India succumbed to a humiliating defeat in early 2006, weren't enough for him to retain his spot and some felt he would never get another chance. Others, as always, thought otherwise and they were proved right when he was included in the Test squad for the away series in South Africa in 2006-2007. He ended as the highest Indian run-scorer in that series and capped his fairytale comeback with four half-centuries on his return to ODIs. He continued his fine run in England, where he finished as the second highest scorer in Tests, and went on to slam back-to-back hundreds against Pakistan at home, the second of which was a glorious 239 in Bangalore. Ganguly was surprisingly omitted from India's ODI squad for the CB Series in Australia and has been out of contention in the one-day squad since. After a poor Test series in Sri Lanka, there were reports of him considering retirement but he was given a lifeline in the Tests against Australia at home. Two days before the first Test, he said the series would be his last.

Timeline

January 11, 1992
Inauspicious debut

Makes his ODI debut, his only international on the tour of Australia. Scores 3 and is duly dropped. His highest score on the tour is 29, against Queensland.

June 21 and 22, 1996
Test debut is different

In his first Test, at Lord's, scores an imperious century. Follows it up with another century in the very next Test at Trent Bridge, on July 4.

October 23, 1996
Quite a sighter

In his 11th one-dayer, in Jaipur, opens the innings for the first time, against South Africa. This is the first time the greatest opening combination in ODI history, him and Sachin Tendulkar, comes together. He scores 54, Tendulkar 64, in a 126-run stand.

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Best Performances

131 v England, Lord's, 1996

It has been a month since he last played an international, and four-and-a-half years since he played one before that. Those are also his only two to date. His selection is already the most controversial aspect on the tour - allegedly a work of quota system. After India have squandered the initiative and let England score 344 after having them down at 107 for 5, a familiar story looks in the offing. On a chilly third morning, Ganguly is imperious through the off side, driving both through the covers and behind point. He pulls the short ones capably and hits 20 boundaries in what seems an inevitable century.

Sahara Cup v Pakistan, Toronto, 1997

The kits are still white, the ball is still swinging, and India-Pakistan clashes are still rare. In his 34 ODIs till date, Ganguly has scored only one century and taken only one wicket. The wickets here are to his immense liking; he bowls accurately, getting just enough movement at just about the right pace, taking a wicket every 20 balls, and for 10 runs each. He is winning matches with the bat too, the most significant being the run-a-ball 75 as India successfully chase 160 in 26 overs. He ends up the best batsman and the best bowler in both the sides. He is the Man of the Match in the first match of the next year's Sahara Cup too.

124 v Pakistan, Independence Cup final, Dhaka, 1997-98

A target of over 300 has been chased successfully only once in the past. India are chasing 315 against Pakistan, in the third of the best-of-three finals. Sachin Tendulkar gets off to a blazing start, but gets out for 41. Robin Singh scores a run-a-ball 80 too, but it's Ganguly who holds the innings together with a well-paced 124. When he gets out, India are close enough, but go on to make a mess before finally winning in dramatic fashion.

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Cricinfo picks - Our top articles on this player

The heart of the matter (Feb 1, 2006)
The art of the riposte (Mar 5, 2007)
Hard edge inside (Dec 1, 2001)
Ganguly - 'I have had enough of this short-ball business' (Dec 11, 2003)
The many sides of Sourav (Nov 6, 2008)