Ganguly’s conspiracy?

 

Somehow two days before Saturday’s crucial match against Sri Lanka, I had guessed that Saurav Ganguly wouldn’t score more than 10. It wasn’t a premonition but something about his batting in the last few matches made me make some interesting observations.

The media has been hailing Ganguly’s great return to form and the team. He has been scoring runs no doubt. But what the media saw was how many runs he made and not how the runs came. Against Bangladesh he took 129 balls for the meager 66 he made. And against Bermuda, when all the other batsmen ensured that their strike rates were well over 100, Saurav made his 89 off 114 balls. What was apparent in both these innings was that in some stages of the innings he was making no attempt to push along the run-rate. He was contented by staying at the wicket for whatever time he wished, thus the momentum of run-scoring usually got affected.

His running between the wickets was something even 50-year-olds could have easily bettered. In the both the above mentioned innings in which he scored half-centuries, India easily lost around 15-20 runs only due to Saurav’s lethargic running between the wickets.

As the big game against Sri Lanka approached, I began thinking of what all could happen if India lost the match. The first thing that obviously would be done is sacking of Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappel. And people back home had begun comparing Dravid and Ganguly’s style of captaincy after India’s loss to Bangladesh. If India lost to Sri Lanka and Dravid had been sacked, who else would be the next captain? Obviously the first name that comes to everybody’s mind is Saurav Ganguly. Dada reinstated. For that to have happened India obviously had to lose and get out of the world cup. The way Ganguly got out in the match against Sri Lanka- what did it look like? For me it was nothing but ‘intentional throwing away of his wicket’. My worst fears had come true.

Was India’s loss Ganguly’s secret desire? Not just the way he got out. The way he turned down calls from his partners to convert 1s to 2s and 2s to 3s raised my eyebrows too. Well, I have tremendous respect for Ganguly and I was a big fan of Dada when he was at his prime. I vehemently hope that Ganguly was just trying to play his normal game and never had these things in his mind. But these human minds and desires, u see, are strange old things.

You may call this article blasphemous and uncalled for. But I dont care. Write in your comments.