Saurav Ganguly - Dadagiri Reloaded

IPL match number 3 between Pune Warriors India and the Mumbai Indians was reminiscent of the good old days when Indian Cricket was lead by a flamboyant captain in Saurav Ganguly. Dada was seen busy on the field right from the word go, trying to articulate the strategy to the bowlers, setting the field up and maintaining the momentum in Pune’s favor.

Ganguly was quick to realize at the start of the game that the pitch would feature a lot of turn. The toss didn’t favor him but he maintained that he would have opted to bat anyway. I doubt how much of that is true considering his early observations, but that is the typical Dada for you- always confident and intimidating.


Once again, he failed to shine with the bat. But once the Pune Warriors came back to defend their meager total of 129, Dada was all around the place with a sheen in his eyes. Only he would have the heart to ask Murali Karthik to bowl the very first over of the innings against the likes of Levi and Rayadu. Dada’s intuition paid dividends with Levi perishing for a duck in the second ball of that over.

Pune needed early wickets and Dada made sure that it happened that way. He kept rotating his bowlers and never allowed the batsmen to settle comfortably. Right bowling changes at the right time along with sharp and tight field positioning from Saurav Ganguly made it difficult for the Mumbai Indians who were the favorites at the start.

Ganguly played the number game very well. He had 2 overs from Dinda- who put one of his best performances on display when it mattered, and 2 from Wayne Parnell to finish the game in favor of the Pune Warriors. He knew that using spin at the end could prove very risky and hence marshaled his resources brilliantly.

You could see the joy when wickets fell, the agony when some misfield happened – Dada was at his animated best. It is even more plausible when you consider the fact that Pune finished last in the previous IPL and to lead such a side against the mighty Mumbai Indians with such charm and composure is definitely admirable. He backed his bowlers when they were hit for four, remained calm when the fielding slipped at times and roared like a lion every time a wicket fell. You could see the respect and authority that he commanded over the team. Sourav Ganguly, the leader, shone like a star today.

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