South Africa 2006

After Sachin became Pollock’s bunny,
and Jaffer, Sehwag, Dravid batted funny;
One man arrived to stop the kill,
With a bat of wood and a heart of steel.

The Indian cricket team, currently in South Africa began their quest for the One-day series on Nov 16th, with a warm-up match against a Rest of South Africa XI. Little under a month later, they played another warm-up match, this time in preparation for the test series, again against a Rest of South Africa XI.


Though, with one small difference - a man called Saurav Ganguly was absent in the first one and present for the second. And, one big difference - India lost the first match and won the next.




With two back to back half-centuries followed by a small yet important cameo, Saurav Ganguly has almost single-handedly resurrected the dying spirits of Indian cricket and more importantly, he has laid the foundation for a historic victory, India's first ever test win in South Africa.


Two days back, even the wildest Indian supporters would not have cherished any hopes of an Indan victory - so bruised and battered have the Indian batsmen been. In the situation, there was hardly a surprise when India were soon reduced to 110/4 in the first innings of the current test.

It's in this context that Ganguly's half-century becomes important. Compare it to India's last tour of Australia and you will know what I mean. No one gave India any chance, and again, in the first innings of the first test India were in a similar position at 127/4. One man's steely resolve set the tone for India, then. The same man, after being dropped, humiliated and finally recalled is doing it again for his country. That's why, Saurav Chandidas Ganguly is important - he lifts his cricket when it's needed most, and alongwith it he lifts the whole team, upwards!
*******

An extract from Kadambari Murali's piece in today's Hindustan Times:

" Ganguly's half-century was worth much more than just 51 and he and everyone watching knew it. In a sense, it was a more defining knock than his 144 in Brisbane three years ago."