To all the readers of this Blog!

Thank you. Siddhart, Partha, Grey Blind, FIP, Anonymous, Shamrez Zack, Bhavin, Rudra, Seena, Neel and all other...thank you all for your continous support and encouragement.

Just a special word to Grey Blind and Shamrez: Thanks for pointing out the errors! Have corrected them. I respect our difference of opinions but do really appreciate the time you have taken to read the Blog in details, and contribute with your invaluable information and opinion.

To Partha and all other ... as everything that starts must also come to an end! Since I had started with Sourav's childhood, I had to bring the series of story telling to a logical end with his historical feat in England tour.

I tried to retrace the path of Sourav from childhood to Lords, with unheard and unknown stories. The experiences of our life makes what we are! My true and honest intention in unravelling the lesser known stories was to discover the building blocks of Sourav's undying, unrelenting character - which was transfused into an ailing team through his legendary captaincy.

But, the show must go on - with a new beginning ... with a new idea! So till then, adieu! See you all soon!

A Hero is Born!

The flight from London touched Kolkata via Delhi. The Dum Dum Airport at Kolkata was flooded with cricket fans from all over Kolkata and beyond. They had come all the way to see a glimpse of Dada – The Big Brother. Sourav got on to an open hooded car arranged by C.A.B. There was uncountable number of people by the two sides of the road. The situation got worse near Behala. Sourav’s car was not moving at all. It took few hours to reach Behala from Taratala More, which otherwise takes 10-15 minutes. People had come out of their homes to wish Sourav.

Bengal had finally found their hero, whom they would always love, adore and stand by throughout his career.

Century again!

Sourav’s century at Lords was unexpected to the cricket fraternity of this country. While for most it was a pleasant surprise, for others it was rather hard to accept. A lot of cricket pundits wrote off his historical feat as a mere fluke. No matter what world thinks, a true champion is one who performs on the stage when it is most needed!

Sourav did receive appreciations as well. Richie Beno said that he expected such a knock from Sourav and hailed him as one of the rare left handed talents in cricket.

Team India, played two more matches before third test. The first one was against ‘University’ where Sourav scored 52 and the other against Hampshire where he scored scored an unbeaten 100.

The 2nd Test began at Trentbridge. India batted first. Vikram Rathod and Nayan Mongia failed again, and got out at 4 and 9. Sachin and Sourav were at the crease. Together they played in absolute tandem, to build a partnership of 255 runs. This was the beginning of many such phenomenal partnerships which these two greats of Indian cricket went on to score in the next ten years. Sourav hit yet another century and was caught by Nasir off Mullai’s delivery at a personal score of 136. Sachin was finally out on 177. With Sanjay Manjrekar and Rahul Dravid chipping in with useful knocks of 53 and 84, India posted a target of 521 before England. The match finally ended in a draw.

But, Indian cricket saw the rise of two new talents – Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, who would become the pillars of Indian batting side for over a decade.

The moment finally arrives - debut at Lords

It was Sourav’s turn. Some of his teammates wished him luck as he proceeded. Sourav descended down the stairs and walked straight into the field. Before him was the lush green velvet - Lords, the mecca of cricket! It was the first day of the 2nd Test match between England and India. The English bowlers had already drawn first blood. Vikram Rathod was out on 15.

Sourav felt a shiver down his veins. Was it cold or the thrill of the moment? It was the moment for him. He had waited four years for this. It was time to give a suitable reply to all the controversies and allegations that was hurled at him. Even his selection wasn’t free of criticisms. Before the start of the test, the rumour went as “A new batsman from Kolkata has been included in the team. It is because of the Bengali quota’’. But what if he fails?

Sourav, closed his eyes and moved his head in a sideways. Blood rushed up his veins...that put all these thoughts out of his mind. .. he encircled his arms, to warm them up. The pitch was coming closer and closer. He tried to think what Mike had told him. “Enjoy your game my dear boy.”

He walked up to the batting crease and took guard. The bowler was running to him. Sourav could see only the red ball in his hand.

************************************************************

It was June 20th 1996. England batted first. India used the overcast conditions to perfection as their seamers took four quick wickets in the afternoon session to grab the upper hand as England slipped to 144 for five at tea on the first day. Resuming after lunch at 39 for one, England lost opener Alec Stewart for 20 early in the session and then a dramatic middle-order collapse saw them lose three wickets for just nine runs.

Stewart and first Test centurion Nasser Hussein, who went to the wicket with the total on nought after skipper Mike Atherton fell for a duck, put on 67 runs before the recalled opener left a big gap between bat and pad and was bowled by Javagal Srinath.

Hussain became the first victim of Saurav Ganguly, making his Test debut in place of the injured Sanjay Manjrekar, when he was brilliantly caught at the second attempt at second slip by Vikram Rathore for 36.

Graeme Hick spooned a simple catch to Srinath when he was on one, also off Ganguly, and Ronnie Irani managed just a single before he was bowled by Venkatesh Prasad to leave England at 107 for five. At tea, Graham Thorpe was on 47 and Jack Russell 21. From 107/5, Russel (126) and Thorpe (89) batted well to put score at 344.

The Indian innings received early blows. Openers, Vikram rathod (15) and Nayan Mongia (24) departed early. From there Sachin and Sourav steadied the innings. However, Sachin too got our on 31. Azhar (16) and Jadeja (10) too fell in quick succession. It was left upto the two debutants, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid to steer India out of the crisis. Rahul unfortunately got out at 95.

Sourav as the 10th player in world and 1st Indian player went on to score a century in Lords at debut. Finally, he was bowled out at 131 by Mullali. India scored 429 in their 1st innings reply. The match eventually ended in a draw.

The time had come!

The Indian Team dressing room had greater overcast conditions than the English weather. It was a prelude to a storm. The squad of 1996 sans Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Dilip Vengsarkar, had Navjot Sidhu as the only senior cricketer. A cold war was going on between Azhar and Sidhu. Sidhu was continuously being provoked by the “yes-men” of Azhar like Jadeja and few others, with the tacit support of Azhar. Finally Sidhu could take no more. He returned to India, in between the tour and announced his retirement. That gave rise to a series of criticism and controversies back home.

Sourav’s inclusion had raised a lot of eyebrows. Cricket pundits across the country had already cried foul, and pronounced his selection as an evil outcome of political lobbying in BCCI. He knew his window of opportunity will be very small. But, somewhere deep down he knew the opportunity will surely come.

The touring side started off by playing five matches against the county cricket sides. Sourav did not get a chance to play in the 1st match. In the remaining matches against NCS XI; Wistars, Glostershire, and Susex; Sourav wasn’t able show any outstanding performance. His best score was 64 n.o. in the second innings against Glostershire. This innings earned him praise from Richie Beno.

The 3 match one-day series against England started. In the first match England batted first and scored 291. In reply, India was 16 for 5 at the end of 17.1 overs when it started raining. The match was abandoned. England won the 2nd One day by 6 wickets. Sourav was not in the playing XI for the first two matches. He got a chance to play in the 3rd match, where he scored 46 runs. India lost the 3rd match as well by 4 wickets.

Sourav was selected in the playing XI for the 1st Test Match. In this match Sachin scored a brilliant century (122). But, India lost this match as well to the Atherton team by 8 wickets. By this time Navjot Sindhu has returned back to India. Sanjay Manjerekar was sent as a replacement. Vikram Rathod after scoring some impressive knocks at the start of the series had also begun to fail. Above all, the Indian team was plagued by injuries. Manjerekar injured his thumb in the practice matches. Left with no other option, the team management was forced to play Sourav and Dravid in the 2nd test match at Lords.

Sourav knew the time had finally arrived. This was the opportunity for which, he had waited for four long years. He remembered the words of Arun Lal and Mike Stuart. The opportunity to settle all scores had unexpectedly come knocking. It is now or never!