Begining of an end...

Rahul Dravid once commented, "On the off-side, first there is God, then there is Ganguly”.

Now there will only be God, since dada would be retiring this Monday.A Tiger in true sense. He wore his heart on his sleeve, led his team passionately, ruffled feathers of one and many. All said and done, he did everything what a batsman needs to do to prove himself to be world-class.

Dada said farewell to cricket after 12 glorious years and at times controversial seasons in the highest level of the game. But for cricket, it`s not merely the loss of an icon, rather of a born fighter, who led his country with passion and shrewdness and would go down as one of the best captains in the annals of cricketing history.

My affection for dada takes me back to 6^th class…I had recently discovered my love for the game…. Sahara Cup was on during those days and a guy called Saurav Ganguly, left handed batsman and right arm bowler, like me.(though I was a spinner) was ransacking the pakis bastard’s camp like hell in Toronto…and I knew who was my role model in cricket for now….the betest lefty..

I grew up imitating his every shot, his batting style, following up his each century, cheering each of his boundary …Most of you guys will laugh on it but believe me was so obsessed with him during the 1999 WC that every note book I bought in 9-10 class had a picture of Dada on it…

Still remember the Independence Cup match of January 99, as India did an impossible by chasing 315 by the pakis in Dhaka…man!! It was an impossible victory…300s were rare during those days…. chasing 315, was as mammoth as disintegrating Mt.Everest…Dada made his career best 124 despite of being getting hurt…Kanitkar’s four on second last ball and India won the match…the whole damn society was dancing on streets..haha!! Wonderful it was …

There was no looking back after that, his heroic 183 against the Sri Lanka in WC’99 …The Natwest Trophy final win in 2002 against England after heroic performances by Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif brought out the spontaneous passion ingrained in the man, who celebrated by taking off his shirt and fluffing it in the air from the Lords balcony…Yeah!!

In Australia in 2003-04 he knew that his struggling team needed him to lead the way in the critical hour with a captain's innings and he promptly produced a rousing, valorous hundred on a lively pitch against a rampant attack. It was this performance that confirmed, once and for all, that Ganguly was not as fragile as he seemed.

But for me the greatness Dada lay more in his approach to the game than mere statistical analysis. He was a fighter, a die-hard fighter…always refusing to give up..his immence belief on his brigade…the fearless spirit and his aggregation..

Dada did not mind directing the fire at himself. What could they do? Bowl bumpers? Already every fast bowler worth his salt had tried to knock off his head. He had no lordly lineage but he walked and talked as he pleased, not exactly trying to provoke opponents but unwilling to deny himself. He did not give much ground to the modern game, with its fitness and diving and running between wickets and morning training and all that rot. It was brave of him to remain apart, for it left him exposed to ridicule, forced him to justify himself. But Ganguly was not scared of the pressure. Perhaps he needed the extra pressure the way a veteran car needs a crank. And, just in case, he had the populist touch.

If Anil Kumble was the colossus, Sachin Tendulkar the champion, Rahul Dravid the craftsman, VVS Laxman the sorcerer, then Ganguly was the inspiration.

Throughout he has toyed with his fate, tempting it to turn its back on him so that once again he could surprise the world with a stunning restoration. Something in him rebelled against the mundane and the sensible. He needed his life to be full of disasters and rescues, and comebacks and mistakes and memorable moments. To hell with the prosaic. At heart he is a cavalier, albeit of mischievous persuasion.

With 85 on Friday,just falling 15 runs short to complete his fairytale endings…its just so ironic that his fate has once again has eluded him…still there is one more inning to go.. I hope we’ll get to see some real action…