Sourav Ganguly: It was the dawn of a new millennium. The year was 2000. Instead of looking excitedly towards a new future, world cricket found itself plunged into an abyss and fighting a seemingly unknown, but formidable new foe, called match-fixing. Many international players, most prominent being the late Hansie Cronje, the-then South Africa captain, were found involved. Among those found guilty also included India captain Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja. Azharuddin, ironically, had just been re-appointed as India’s captain after disastrous results under Sachin Tendulkar. In what BBC called “Indian cricket‘s darkest hour”, up stepped a man to take over the reigns, someone who had previously been criticised for his princely ways. Sourav Ganguly, belonging to a prominent Kolkata family, was given the charge. He knew exactly what was to be done, and in order to turn his team into a fighting unit, did what today’s generation has taken to an entirely new level. He instilled the hitherto lacking aggressiveness in the team. In the 2001 Test series at home against Australia, he stood up to the mighty Australians and gave them a taste of their own medicine. If irritating Steve Waugh by making him wait for a toss, not once but four times, was not enough, then what about his bare-chested shirt waving act in the balcony of Lord’s? That was apparently a mocking of Andrew Flintoff who had done the same after England won an ODI in India in 2001. Being such a hothead that he was, the presence of wise men like John Wright, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble must have also helped him a lot as they must have done their bit in helping Dada out on numerous occasions. Under him, India became a very competitive side. He took India to the 2002 Natwest Series final where they chased down a mammoth England total leading to Dada’s now (in)famous balcony act. Also under him, India won 8 straight matches to reach the final of the 2003 World Cup. This side consisted of many young players who went from being boys to men under Ganguly – Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif. Except Kaif, the rest have enjoyed successful careers and were integral members of 2011 World Cup winning team. He also revived the team’s away fortunes as he led India to a famous 1-1 draw Down Under in 2003-04. Equally unforgettable was his magnificent 144 at the Gabba against a high quality Aussie attack. A darling in West Bengal, he also led India to a 3-2 win over Pakistan in the historic 2004 tour. He suffered a loss of form around 2004-05 and to make matters worse, John Wright was replaced as coach by Greg Chappell. What followed was the most tumultuous phase in his career as he was not only sacked as captain but dropped from the team as well. He never saw eye-to-eye with Chappell and his sacking from the team led to protests, especially in Bengal; such was the passion, love and the respect he commanded among one and all. After making a comeback into the team for the tour of South Africa in 2006-07, Dada once again became a regular in Team India and retired in 2008 following a 2-0 Test victory at home against Australia. He later captained IPL teams Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors India, both of which could not flourish under him and soon retired from all forms of cricket. He may not have been as successful as Dhoni statistically and may not have an ICC trophy to show for his efforts, but what made him stand apart from Dhoni and other India captains was his aggressive attitude and the ability to lead his troops in most difficult times. The loss to Australia in their 2003 World Cup group match had sparked violent reactions back home, but he took it on his chin and led India to a runners-up finish. He united an Indian team and turned it into “Team India”, as we call our team today. His policy of infusing youth in the team paid rich dividends. He may have had some of his own shortcomings both as a person and captain, but it was he who revived the fortunes of a team on the brink of collapse and turned it into a bunch of world-beaters. He was hence not just a captain, but a leader of his men. Thus, it is not for nothing that the “Prince of Trinidad” Brian Lara recently called the “Prince of Calcutta” the best Indian captain he has ever seen. CaptaincyRecord: Tests (2000-05): Venue Matches Won Lost Draw Home 21 10 3 8 Away 28 11 10 7 Total 49 21 13 15 ODIs (1999-2005): Venue Matches Won Lost Tied No Result Home 36 18 18 0 0 Away 51 24 24 0 3 Neutral 59 34 23 0 2 Total 146 76 65 0 5 MS Dhoni: Making his debut against Bangladesh in December 2004, the-then long haired Dhoni was picked for the tour after some impressive performances for India A. He earned instant fame with breathtaking knocks of 148 off 123 balls and 183 off 145 balls, both in 2005 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively. The cricket-crazy India had found its’ new hero and Dhoni’s long hair became a national phenomenon. Over the course of the next couple of years, he solidified his position in the team and was named vice-captain to Rahul Dravid for the ODI series against South Africa and England in 2007. His fairytale run started when Dhoni was named captain of the Indian team for the inaugural World Twenty in South Africa in 2007. Defying all expectations, he led India to victory in the tournament and was soon appointed India’s ODI captain. He established himself as a premier one-day batsman and after transitional captaincy stints of Dravid and Anil Kumble, the baton was fully handed to him. Under him the team scaled new heights and won their very first CB Series in Australia by blanking the hosts 2-0 in the finals. They also avenged their loss in the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy by defeating the Australians 2-0 at home, with both victories coming under Dhoni’s leadership who was then vice-captain. Under him, the Indian team also became the no.1 Test team for the first time in their history in December 2009. The peak of his captaincy came when he led India to their second World Cup triumph in 2011, leading from the front in the final against Sri Lanka. This prompted even Sachin Tendulkar to call Dhoni the “best captain I have ever played under”. He also led India to a 4-0 whitewash of Australia and won the recent Champions Trophy. Apart from all his international accolades, Dhoni’s franchise Chennai Super Kings have been two-times IPL champions and three-times runners-up, and also have a Champions League T20 title to their name, thus making them the most successful IPL franchise. Dhoni has had his share of big failures. After winning the inaugural World T20, the team failed to progress past the Super 6 stage in the next three editions of the tournament and was eliminated from the group stages of the 2009 Champions Trophy. In 2011-12, after the high of winning the World Cup, the team went on an eight-Test winless run in England and Australia, failing to win even a single match across all three formats in England. Losing the first bilateral one-day series in five years against arch-rivals Pakistan, at home in December 2012, was another high-profile failure. Despite all these failures, “Mahi’s” captaincy record is simply phenomenal. Winning all three major ICC tournaments is no small feat. People say that he took over a team brought up by Ganguly, but while Ganguly had players like Sachin, Dravid, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Kumble et al. in his ranks, Dhoni has youngsters like Raina, Kohli, Dhawan and Jadeja at his disposal. A player like Gautam Gambhir, who made his debut in 2004, and the newest sensation Kohli have both flourished under Dhoni. True, when India lifted the World Cup in 2011, players who played under Dada, played integral roles in the triumph. But how can you ignore the contributions of the youngsters-Virat’s debut World Cup century, Raina’s cameo against Pakistan and Gambhir’s 97 in the final and to top it up, Dhoni’s match-winning 91. It was a total team effort all right, but Mahi was the glue that kept the team together. Critics have also accused him of being hungry to hog the limelight, as they pointed out when he promoted himself up the batting order in that final, despite being terribly out of form. Well, tell me how many players will have the guts to do so and that too in a World Cup final? He has been called extremely lucky. True, it was pure luck that both Joginder and Ishant Sharma delivered. Having faith in all his players, no matter what the circumstances, is another Dhoni hallmark. Again, how many captains would have had guts to go to players like the Sharmas to deliver in such crunch situations? Unlike Ganguly, Dhoni is a cool customer, rightly called “Captain Cool”. Barring the odd occasion, he is seldom seen shouting at his players. He is more a friend to his players than their captain. He always backs them as well, case in point being “Sir” Ravindra Jadeja and “Maggi Legend” Rohit Sharma. Jadeja and Rohit have always been labeled as Dhoni’s favorites. People used to openly ridicule them. But after his Champions Trophy exploits, how many of us are actually laughing at “Sir”? Even “Maggi Legend” has gone on to form a successful opening partnership with Dhawan in ODIs. On some other notes, unlike Dada, Mahi’s batting form as captain has been consistent overall and excellent in ODIs. He also has a knack of playing crucial knocks at crucial times, be it the one in World Cup final for India or the one for CSK in IPL 2010 against Punjab that saved them from elimination. He is also a superb athlete unlike Ganguly, who was a notorious runner and poor fielder. Some sporting gestures on his part include taking back Ian Bell’s dismissal in 2011, letting Ganguly lead the team during the final moments of his last Test and letting his boys celebrate with the Champions Trophy and fading into background when they celebrated the win. Last but not the least, it was Ganguly who instilled much needed aggressiveness in Indian cricket, but it is Dhoni’s team who has taken it to a whole new level. The former ticket collector and goalkeeper-turned wicketkeeper has indeed come a long way from being the long-haired debutant to brand Dhoni that he is today. Sourav Ganguly revived the fortunes of Indian cricket but it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni who took it to heights never seen before. I may not be a big Dhoni fan but I sure respect him. Thus, in my book, Dhoni beats Ganguly as India’s best ever captain, and by a mile. Captaincy Record Tests (2008-): Venue Matches Won Lost Draw Home 28 19 3 6 Away 19 5 9 5 Total 47 24 12 11 ODIs (2007-): Venue Matches Won Lost Tied No Result Home 51 31 17 1 2 Away+Neutral 94 56 30 2 6 Total 145 87 47 3 8 T20Is (2007-): Venue Matches Won Lost Tied No Result Home 9 4 5 0 0 Away+Neutral 32 16 14 1 1 Total 41 20 19 1
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 05:27:41 +0000
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