Sourav Ganguly ke 52 Saal: Dada ke Bharatiya Team ke Shandar Career par Ek Nazar
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly ka sabse yaadgaar pal woh tha jab unhone 2002 ke Natwest Trophy finals mein India ko England ke muh se jeet chhinate hue Lord’s balcony par apni shirt utari thi.
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, jinko unke teammate aur former India head coach Rahul Dravid ne ‘God of off-side’ kaha tha, ne cricket ke field mein kai shandar yogdan diye hain aur IPL franchise Delhi Capitals ke Director of Cricket ke roop mein aaj bhi kar rahe hain. Jaise hi left-handed batter ne Monday ko apne 52 saal poore kiye, aaiye unke lagbhag do-decade-long career ke kuch panne palatate hain. Ganguly ki opinion polarise karne ki kshamata ne Bharatiya cricket mein ek fascinating drama ko janm diya.
Lekin, yeh deny nahi kiya ja sakta ki woh Bharat ke sabse safal Test captain the, jinhone ek winning team ko talented players ke group se banaya, aur woh itihas ke sabse acche one-day batters mein se ek hain. Halanki woh ek batter the jo grace aur surgical accuracy ke sath khel sakte the, unka career tab thamm gaya jab tak unhone 1996 mein Lord’s par apne debut mein ek brilliant hundred nahi banaya. Unhe us saal ke baad ODI order mein upar uthaya gaya, aur unhone aur Sachin Tendulkar ne milkar history ke sabse powerful opening combinations mein se ek banaya.
Ganguly apne distinct leadership style ke liye jane gaye apne time par pitch par. Summer of 1996 mein unhone England ke khilaf apna Test debut kiya, jisse unhe ‘Dada’ ka nickname mila. Unhone jaldi hi headlines banayi jab unhone apne pehle Test mein Lord’s par century banayi aur ‘Prince of Kolkata’ ne dusre Test mein bhi ek ton banaya, history ke teesre batter ban gaye jo apni pehli do innings mein hundred banate hain.
2000 mein, Team India camp match-fixing scandal mein phas gaya tha. Tab Ganguly ko team ka captain banaya gaya, jahan unhone naye talent ko groom karna shuru kiya.
Ganguly ne Bharat ko 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy ke finals tak pehli baar pahunchaaya. Ek aur Team India milestone 2001 mein aaya jab Ganguly-led side ne Australia ko Border-Gavaskar Trophy mein 2-1 se haraaya.
Australian team, jise Steve Waugh ne captain kiya tha, ne series mein India ko follow on karne ka challenge diya, lekin VVS Laxman aur Rahul Dravid ne Bharatiya cricket history ke ek greatest comebacks mein se ek ko anjam diya.
Former India captain ka sabse yaadgaar pal definitely tab tha jab unhone 2002 Natwest Trophy finals mein India ne England ko haar kar Lord’s balcony par apni shirt utari thi.
Ganguly ne 2003 World Cup finals tak bhi Bharat ko lead kiya, jahan woh championship game mein Australia se narrowly haar gaye. 2004 mein, unhone Pakistan mein ODI aur Test series ko bhi oversee kiya. Test series triumph Bharat ka pehla Pakistani mitti par tha.
‘Dada’ ka ek aur yaadgaar spat 2005-6 mein tab hua jab unka takraav then-coach Greg Chappell se hua, jab ‘Prince of Kolkata’ ko Team India squad se bahar kar diya gaya. Ganguly ne apne raahein fir se team mein banayi aur Johannesburg mein fifty-plus score record kiya.
Unhone apna aakhri Test Australia ke khilaf Nagpur mein 2008 mein khela. Unhone Indian Premier League (IPL) mein 2012 tak khela, jab unhone domestic cricket se retire kiya. ‘Dada’ ne Bharat ke liye 113 Tests aur 311 One-Day Internationals khele. Apne international career mein, left-handed batsman ne sabhi formats mein 18,575 runs banaye.
Ganguly ek main wajah hain jo Bharat mein day-night Test cricket ke idea ke emergence ke liye zimmedar hain. Unki mehnat rang layi jab Bharat ne apna pehla day-night Test match Bangladesh ke khilaf Eden Gardens mein 2019 mein khela.
Unhone sabhi formats mein Bharat ko 195 matches mein lead kiya aur unmein se 97 matches jeete. Former skipper fir Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) ke President ban gaye aur BCCI ke former President bhi rahe.
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