Sourav Ganguly put the scrap in this India side

[King]

It was fitting Sourav Ganguly was out in the middle when India sealed the Trent Bridge Test, a gripping match played out on a feverish edge, writes Siddhartha Vaidyanathan . More... Sourav Ganguly put the scrap in this India side By Siddhartha Vaidyanathan Last Updated: 2:23am BST 01/08/2007 Have your say Read comments In pics: Indian batsmen in buoyant mood Audio: Derek Pringle on jelly beans and sledging Derek Pringle: India outclass England | Trent Bridge scorecard It was fitting Sourav Ganguly was out in the middle when India sealed the Trent Bridge Test, a gripping match played out on a feverish edge. One could imagine the impish smile that might have followed; thoroughly chuffed after prevailing in a scrap. To Ganguly goes the credit for shaping the modern Indian cricketer. Not only was he India's most successful captain, but their most uncompromising one. If India's earlier generation condoned barbs directed at them, Ganguly believed in giving it back. If Andrew Flintoff could bare his chest at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 2002, Ganguly could take his shirt off at Lord's, as he did later that year. India's young cricketers watched Ganguly's team on television and found heroes to emulate, men who would not be cowed down, irrespective of the situation. Often Ganguly lit the match - on-field successes allowed him to. In decades gone by India's cricketers had a soft image, one that stemmed as much from a lack of success as it did from a prevailing colonial hangover. Sunil Gavaskar's confrontation with Dennis Lillee at Melbourne in 1981, after he was given out lbw and was so incensed by the decision he persuaded fellow opener Chetan Chauhan to leave the field with him, was an oasis of defiance, and it took tough, hard-edged cricketers like Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri to carry the baton. Few India-England contests as this have involved as many skirmishes, with inane chatter, shoulder barges, beamers and jelly beans in focus. Remove the Vaseline controversy surrounding John Lever in the 1976-7 series in India and you have a genteel history, one in direct contrast to the acrimony that is a regular feature of England's meetings with Pakistan. India's captain in the Jubilee Test of 1980, Gundappa Viswanath, even called back Bob Taylor, after the umpire had adjudged him caught behind. Simon Hughes: Zaheer's guile gives England a headache Alastair Cook: Sweet revenge is wide of the mark Geoffrey Boycott: Too much talk from England Their new-found steel explains why India were amused by England's jelly jape, their attempt at rattling Zaheer Khan by scattering jellybeans on the pitch. They were playing catch-up at that point, trailing by 266 runs, and to rile India's spearhead was as puerile as it was hazardous. When you're already losing the match, why lose your head? While taunting a greenhorn like Shantha Sreesanth with Harry Potter taunts is one thing, getting under the skin of Zaheer, a far more experienced bowler capable of controlling his aggression, is quite another. "If he's going to perform like this can we please get him upset every game," said Dravid, prompting peals of laughter among the media. "I'd be more than happy to get him upset... I've never seen him as fired up. So please, if you're going to upset our boys, and they're going to perform like this, I'll be more than happy." Who's eating the jellies now? India aren't free of blame, though. Sreesanth crossed the line once too often and was fined for his shoulder barge with Michael Vaughan. His shocking no-ball, when he overstepped by about two feet, did not seem to go down well with Rahul Dravid, either. He will want his maverick bowler to keep his head, but also not want to douse the fire. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is an assistant editor with cricinfo.com

[King]

The cricinfo writers have a different tone when writing for a Brit daily.

[Guest dada_rocks]

thank god someone remembers dada's contribution

[Anakin]

Dada has been outbatting almost everyone since he made his comeback

[kumble_rocks]

Dada has been outbatting almost everyone since he made his comeback

Welcome back Mate !

[Anakin]

Thanks :)

[Lurker]

Moral of the story - Drop people when they do not perform. Ganguly & Zaheer Khan are two of the most important players in this team today and their games have certainly come up after them being dropped from the side. BCCI would you take a cue and drop some other over the hill stars? :thumbs_up:

[Guest dada_rocks]

kahan the mian itane dinon

[theguyinallblue]

i can only imagine..what will sehwag and pathan do..when they stage their comeback..