'Happy Birthday, Dada' - Top-5 innings by the legendary left-hander, Sourav Ganguly

When you ask an Indian cricket fanatic about a batter, who is not just known for his swashbuckling style but also his flamboyance and fearlessness, most of them would be thinking about Dada a.k.a Sourav Ganguly. 

He is one of India's greatest batters and captain. Though some might say that Sourav Ganguly's captaincy just had one ICC title as a joint-winner with Sri Lanka in the 2003 Champions Trophy, why was his captaincy stint so memorable? 

Ganguly instilled in the squad a fighting attitude and confidence that has become an iconic element within the Indian team. He has had a long and illustrious career representing India in 311 ODIs and 113 Tests and amassing 11363 and 7212 runs, respectively. 

As the veteran batter turns 50 today (8 July), here are his TOP 5 innings that are a delight to watch for every cricket fanatic. 

• 239 against Pakistan, 2007
  
  

During the last match of the three-match Test series against the arch-rivals Pakistan, India were dismal with the bat at 44/2 and trying to play cautiously, to have a grip of the game. And that match turned out to be one of the finest batting displays ever shown by the former Indian captain. 

Ganguly scored a colossal 239 runs, comprising 30 boundaries and two sixes. The southpaw continued to pitch well in the second innings but fell nine runs short of the century mark. When the match got called off due to weather, India were only three wickets away from victory. Also, this was Ganguly's highest score in the red-ball format. 

• 153* against New Zealand, 1999
  
  

The third ODI pitch favoured the bowlers in the ODI series between India and New Zealand, thanks to its damp factor. So, the scenario was the Indian batters struggling to garner some crucial runs against the Kiwi bowling attack. But as mentioned earlier, Ganguly is a man of fearless and dedicated qualities. Ganguly battled valiantly, scoring an undefeated 153-run knock to lead India to a total of 261. Thanks to his commendable innings, India restricted the Kiwis and sealed the series 2-1.

• 141* against South Africa, 2000
  
  

It was during the semi-finals of the 2022 ICC Knockout Cup; it was the clash against the Proteas. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, skipper Ganguly decided to begin the proceedings all by himself. With the help of Rahul Dravid, the swashbuckling batters put together a robust second-wicket partnership of 145 runs. During the climax segment of India's innings, Ganguly decided to end the campaign with a bang and finished his innings on 141 runs off 142 deliveries with 11 fours and six sixes. The strain of the massive total was too much for the South Africans, who were bowled out for 200 runs, handing India a 95-run triumph.

• 131 against England, 1996

A well-known quote stated, 'First impression is the best impression,' we can correlate it with that of Ganguly's cricketing stint. It was in the year 1996 when the cricketing world got introduced to the left-hand batter in the whites at the Mecca of Cricket, Lords. It was against England where Ganguly started things off with the bat in style. Coming out at number three, he struck a century in his debut Test match, where he scored a commendable 131 off 301 balls, which got the Indian team back into the game. 

• 98* against Sri Lanka, 2001
  
  

Some of you might be perplexed that this isn't a triple-digit score made by the left-hander and would still be one of Ganguly's notable knocks. 

This inning sums up his fearless, flamboyant and dedicated persona. 

There was a phase where the reliable batter had to go through the worst timeline in his career, as he didn't score a single half-century in his previous 13 innings. Then, during a Test series against Sri Lanka, India lost the first match, and the second one was an uphill challenge for them. 

India had to chase down 264 runs in their second innings to seal the game. With the match played on the Lankan turf, Dilhara Fernando, Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan were in their prime form and could be the most potent threat in the fourth innings. However, Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid defied all expectations with a 91-run third-wicket partnership. Ganguly led India to a stunning win with a superb undefeated knock of 98 runs. And that's how legends like Sourav Ganguly make a comeback in style.