The Last Bow

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. He made my eyes wet. The aggressive, bold, striking God of the off side; made my eyes moist with his absolutely unassuming re

action after playing early to a ball bowled by Jason Kreyzja and going out for a golden duck in his final innings. A man who made his entry with a dazzling century in cricket's heavenly abode, went out in the most contrasting manner possible; a golden duck. Thats just what Ganguly is, contrasting - you can either be an ardent admirer of his abilities or you can hate him with all your hatred put together, nothing in between. In the end of it all, I am very, very glad of what I chose to be.

He was not the most gifted batsman in the w

orld, but I daresay he did everything he could with his limited abilities. Be it cutting and sqare driving fast bowlerrs on the off side; or dancing down the wicket and lofting the ball over the head of a spinner, Ganguly was majestic to watch. Ganguly was never quoted by anyone to be a stylish batsman; but he did have it in him. Those drives that came square of the wicket and when he came down the track, true to his nick Maharaj, it was a majestic and breath-taking sight to watch.

The spirit of Dada made a bunch of talented 

youngsters take notice of their talents, beofre which they were directionless. The spirit of Dada carried the cricket team to many famous victories and made nations take notice of it at a time when the cricket team was the butt of many jokes. The spirit of Dada taught the world that Australia can be beaten. And it is the spirit of Dada that dared the man to wave his shirt from the Lord's balcony on Flintoff's face.

The second wicket partnership for a smal

l matter of 318 runs with Dravid, with two balls into the nearby stream at Taunton, that day reamins fresh in my mind. During the presentation ceremony, I was deeply touched when Dada made the same statement three times - This trophy (Man of the Match) should have been shared (with Rahul). The 1997 Sahara cup in Toronto, Dada won the man of the series award not only for his performance with the bat, but also because he decimated Pakistan with the ball; that series will remain a memorable one forever. After taking over captaincy at a stage when the match fixing scandal had

 left an already down trodden Indian team in further tatters, Dada regrouped them all and made them men. It was in the year 2001 that Dada had a turning point in his career, the Aussies under Steve Waugh came to India with 15 wins on the trot and went on to make it 16 not much later. Then the juggernaut was stopped, and how!!! Dada would then travel with his troops to Australia to spoil Steve Waugh's swansong. In the first match at Brisbane, Dada found himself at the crease when the scorecard read 62-3. Where anyone else would have defended to steady the innings, Dada wal

ked back to the pavilion with his score reading 144 of 196 balls. Who can forget the test math at Leed's where the terrific trio set the ground ablaze with a century each?

Well, we can analyse so much history and many of Dada's magic moments. Not even Dada's hardcore haters can refuse the fact that he made it all happen. He induced self belief in the current bunch and Dhoni will carry on with what was inspired by my Dada. I believe and hope he cant stay away from the game and will be back in some way to toughen up the youngsters.

Dadagiri Forever!!