to take the fight to the opponents
there is this one man
A blog by ©hinaman:
Dileep Premachandran at Motera
Sourav Ganguly stood on the burning deck nearly four hours for a fine 87 as India’s misadventure at Motera ended with ugly scars that may take a while to heal. South Africa, a class apart from first ball to last, swept to a thoroughly deserved innings-and-90-run victory inside three days and cannot lose a series that was billed as the contest for the No.2 ranking behind Australia.
Ganguly added 110 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and 55 with VVS Laxman, exhibiting all the determination and poise that had been conspicuously absent in India’s abject first innings.
His dismissal completely changed the course of a final session that had started encouragingly for the home side, with Ganguly playing some delicate cuts off Paul Harris and a beautiful straight push off Morne Morkel. With Dhoni in dogged and restrained mood, it was Ganguly who worked the bowlers, until the decisive moment when Graeme Smith tossed the ball Steyn’s way.
Sourav Ganguly swept Paul Harris with ease: Photograph ©AFP
There was a time when the contributions with the bat
were far more important than the lapses on the field, but not anymore.
To some sideline commentators of doubtful intelligence,
its only good fielding that wins matches
an excuse to get the players they hate out of the team.
Time and time again they are proved wrong,
to be silenced just for a day, before shooting off their big mouths again.
There has to be runs on the board first before you can defend, you morons.
As he had during his warm-up 83 in Potchefstroom, an innings that put him in excellent stead for his Johannesburg comeback, Ganguly’s technique rarely failed him today. Standing upright in his crease, head balanced, body weight distributed, a short backlift allowing him to play straight, the lighter bat coming down well as he defended the fast bowlers confidently, he produced a gutsy innings.
Ganguly ducked Makhaya Ntini, left the ball gracefully, tucked off the hips, hopped across to defend, intent always writ across his brow. And then, just to remind us of what he’s really capable of, he would occasionally lace Dale Steyn past mid-off or drive Morne Morkel for a silken straight four. A couple hard-handed defensives off Paul Harris dropped tantalizingly short of the fielder under the helmet, but he also rocked back to cut the left-arm spinner for four. And then there was the repeated sweep, a shot he has never pulled off efficiently.
Unlike his top-order mates he was taking it back to South Africa, relying on instinct. He was battling against adversity and thriving, like India abroad recently. But, like India, it’s also dangerous to expect too much of Ganguly. Having pulled Steyn for two singles - it wasn’t about the runs, it was the intent - he flashed at full one and was adjudged out, though the Snickometer said bat hit ground.
Years from now, when Ganguly’s role in Indian cricket will be explained to keen young minds by grey-haired seniors, his prodigal-son-like return at the Wanderers will perhaps be used to summarise just how frustratingly unique his career has been. Similarly, Ahmedabad 2008 may be looked back upon as a black mark in a chapter that holds some memorable highs.
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