Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly, also fondly known as 'Dada', celebrates his 53rd birthday today. Under Ganguly, India managed to reach greater heights that included a final appearance at the 2003 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
Ganguly led India for five years and under his leadership, the Men In Blue scripted some big records including a first-ever series draw in Australia. Moreover, he also served as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI).
Also called as 'The Prince of Kolkata', Ganguly has scored 11363 runs in ODI cricket, and accumulated 7,212 runs in Tests.
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s | HS |
| Test | 113 | 188 | 7,212 | 42.17 | 16 | 35 | 239 |
| ODI | 311 | 300 | 11,363 | 41.02 | 22 | 72 | 183 |
| First-Class | 254 | 399 | 15,687 | 44.18 | 33 | 89 | 239 |
| List A | 437 | 421 | 15,622 | 41.32 | 31 | 97 | 183 |
Below are some of the few unknown and interesting facts about Sourav Ganguly:
Despite Ganguly being a left-handed batter, he is a right-hander by trade. He bowls, writes and does all things from his right-hand.
Hailing from Kolkata, Ganguly has been a huge football fan since childhood. It was because of his brother Snehashish, that he enrolled himself in a cricket academy. Over time, Ganguly mastered the game so much that he eventually went on to replace his brother in the Ranji Cricket team.
Did you know that in his entire Test career, Ganguly's Test average never fell below 40 at any point. His Test career average is 42.17.
Since his first name was 'Maharaj', given by his parents. Former England captain Sir Geoffrey Boycott fondly called him 'The Prince of Calcutta' which became synonymous in the world of cricket.
Ganguly is the only cricketer till date to score a century on Test debut and get dismissed for naught on his last Test innings.
Another fact from Ganguly is that Team India never lost a Test match in which the southpaw scored a century. In his 16 Test tons, India won 12 and drew four.
With his unbeaten knock of 111 against Kenya in the 2003 World Cup, Ganguly also notched another piece of history as he became the first Indian to score a century in a World Cup semi-final.
