The Making of the Phoenix - Unheard Stories of Sourav Ganguly!

[saikatmaity]

Lordie, Dada, Prince of Kolkata ... no matter whatever you call him, Saurav Ganguly is best described as the Phoenix, the Fighter who has risen to glory from impending oblivion, again and again! But not many are aware of the making of this great fighter of Indian Cricket...the stories of his early years! Dada in his childhood dreamt of being a footballer. His icon player was East Bengal's Majid Bascar. Sourav was a regular member of the St. Xavier's football team, wearing a No.10 jearsey ............Dada's first inspiration for cricket came when his uncle gifted him a S.G. branded Cricket Bat ...................It was the U-19 touranment against Pakistan at Mumbai ... when Sourav came to bat he saw Blood stains on the pitch...rattled but not afraid, Dada tried to cover the stains with dust and took stance .................... Can't give you all the details here due to space constraints .. but you can read them on my Blog. I shall share an amusing story when Dada was a small kid at school. Saurav’s parents decided to have a Bengali tutor for him. His tutor would come in the evening, for the classes soon after Saurav returned from school. Young Saurav was very upset at this. Evening was the time for him to kick the football with his para (neighbourhood) friends, and no way was he going to study Bengali sacrificing football. But he was too scared to revolt, before his parents as well. After some hard thinking he came up with a strategy. He went up to his tutor, and told: “Sir, can I ask you something?” “Yes, go on.” “You seem too tired after your day’s work. Even I come exhausted from school. Why don’t both of us take some rest, before we commence with our studies,” Saurav suggested. “Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. Its true we both get very tired, after day’s work”, his teacher observed thoughtfully. “That’s great Sir. You rest at my room, while i shall go upstairs and take a nap. Then we can start afresh” Gangulys were a joint family with a palace like mansion. So it was not possible for the family members to take much notice if someone quietly sneaks out of the house. Thus every evening Saurav would hit the football ground, while his parents thought that he was studying in his room. :winky:

[Anakin]

good one

[saikatmaity]

The Great Match Don Bosco Lilua and St.Xavier’s Kolkata, were the two cut throat competitors in the annual school football match. It was like Brazil playing Arzentina in the World Cup Final, where enthusiasm and emotions ran very high, in an environment which became most electrifying. But, it was mostly Don Bosco Lilua who lifted the trophy. And beating Don Bosco was always like a much cherished dream for the Xaverians. Young Saurav was in the St.Xavier’s team as a striker. He knew that Don Bosco was a better team, but just could not accept the fact that his own team members were mentally prepared for a defeat already. ............................ The D-day had come.............Surprisingly Xavier’s managed to score the first goal and managed to keep it 1-0 for the first half of the match............No sooner, had the 2nd half started Xavier’s faced a series of attack from the Don Bosco strikers. They tried their best to defend, but attacks were incessant and a leveller seemed impending. Finally at the 65th Minute of play, Don Bosco scored a leveller. It was 1-1 for the two teams now. This triggered an even fiercer attack from Don Bosco, trying to take the lead. ....

[flamy]

Can't give you all the details here due to space constraints .. but you can read them on my Blog. :winky:

:dontknow: There are no space constraints here.

[DomainK]

:dontknow: There are no space constraints here.

Exactly. Feel free to post as much as you can. :two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up:

[saikatmaity]

Exactly. Feel free to post as much as you can. :two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up:

Well to give you an idea of what is to come in the entire series - "Way to Lords - Sourav Ganguly" .. here is the Table of Contents: 1. Childhood

- The passion for Football

- The great match

- Cricket calling!

2. The Big Arena

- U-19 tournament England

- U-19 tournament against Pakistan

- Ranji Selection

3. Indian Team 1992, Australian Tour

- First Class Matches

- Controversies and elimination

4. Those Four Years 5. England Tour 1996 Well that was a rough scheme of things to come on my personal Blog... As you can see I could only finish off with "Passion for Football" and "The great Match" ... and there is much more to come .. I have not been able to finalise on the subcontents of Point no. 4 & 5 till now. So please bear with me and would appreciate all your hate or support, as thats the only return I earn at the end of the day - Satisfaction of getting a happy reader and challenge to get even better. Since you asked for, I shall copy and paste a complete Post, "The Great Match" here on this forum. Hope you enjoy it. :nervous:

[suraj]

Man if left to Bengalis Dada will be worshipped as the legendary Krishna who destroyed a sea snake next!!!

[saikatmaity]

The Great Match Don Bosco Lilua and St.Xavier’s Kolkata, were the two cut throat competitors in the annual school football match. It was like Brazil playing Arzentina in the World Cup Final, where enthusiasm and emotions ran very high, in an environment which became most electrifying. But, it was mostly Don Bosco Lilua who lifted the trophy. And beating Don Bosco was always like a much cherished dream for the Xaverians. Saurav was in the St.Xavier’s team as a striker. He knew that Don Bosco was a better team, but just could not accept the fact that his own team members were mentally prepared for a defeat already. He went up to Snehasis and asked him: “Dadabhai, why are we so much afraid of Don Bosco?†“It happens when you get defeated continuously,†Snehasis replied. “But why should we get defeated again and again. Why can’t we fight back? Underdogs do win, don’t they? Look at Cameroon. If they could stop Argentina, why can’t we stop Don Bosco?†“What will you do?†Snehasis asked. “All I can do, Dadabhai is to score goal, and I will only try my best to do that. I won’t ever accept defeat before the last whistle is blown.†Marvelled at his bro’s attitude, Snehasis caringly remarked, “But, remember you will alone have to fight in the beginning.†“I will, and I will also make others play, just like Maradona or Majid doesâ€. Saurav’s inspiration was Maradona and Majid Bascar of the East Bengal Club team. He also donned a No.10 Jersey like them. The D-day had come. The match between Xaviers and Don Bosco had started. Surprisingly Xavier’s managed to score the first goal and managed to keep it 1-0 for the first half of the match. No sooner, had the 2nd half started Xavier’s faced a series of attack from the Don Bosco strikers. They tried their best to defend, but attacks were incessant and a leveller seemed impending. Finally at the 65th Minute of play, Don Bosco scored a leveller. It was 1-1 for the two teams now. This triggered an even fiercer attack from Don Bosco, trying to take the lead. Xaverians managed to hold on like this till the 90th minute, and the match went into extra time. Both teams were exhausted but were ready to take on each other for the final few minutes. Saurav, was playing in the Centre Field, when suddenly somebody passed the ball to him. In a flash he started rushing to Don Bosco Goal with the ball, dodging mid fielders and defenders one after another. He came near the goal post, lobbed the ball with his left feet and hit a hard volley with his right.... The goalie missed it completely and Goaallllllllllllllll !!!!!! Xavier’s won the match, 2-1. The inborn ‘never say die attitude’ in Sourav was metamorphosed into a strong self belief, by successes like these, in his childhood. Much later in his career, he was able to infuse this self belief into an ailing Indian Team, in the post Azhar, bribe scam hit era; and transform them into a bunch of fighters who were ready to take on Giants on their own home turf. ....... to be contd. Source: Inspired by the Book, “Saurav†by Shantipriya Bandopadhay

[saikatmaity]

Man if left to Bengalis Dada will be worshipped as the legendary Krishna who destroyed a sea snake next!!!

Its not about Bengalis, or Sikhs or Biharis etc. Suraj. And its also not about a few hundreds scored at the International Level. Its about Attitude that makes Dada different from Azhar, Sachin from Kambli and you from me, perhaps. Its also about knowing a person, a bit better, who is undoubtedly much better than you and me! Cheerio. :winky:

[suraj]

Its not about Bengalis, or Sikhs or Biharis etc. Suraj. And its also not about a few hundreds scored at the International Level. Its about Attitude that makes Dada different from Azhar, Sachin from Kambli and you from me, perhaps. Its also about knowing a person, a bit better, who is undoubtedly much better than you and me! Cheerio. :winky:

yeah yeah I know Saurav has solved all the problems of India from ancient, medevial to modern times I think I know enough about him in the profession he is i.e. cricket; I don't really care to know about every room in his mansion, his tutor or what he said on a soccer field where greater soccer players than him have represented the sport. Cheerio & a Bengali winky to you!

[saikatmaity]

yeah yeah I know Saurav has solved all the problems of India from ancient, medevial to modern times I think I know enough about him in the profession he is i.e. cricket; I don't really care to know about every room in his mansion, his tutor or what he said on a soccer field where greater soccer players than him have represented the sport. Cheerio & a Bengali winky to you!

You are what you Choose to be! And if you choose to be uninterested (rather Regionally Uninterested) then thats that Dude. Its your choice to be that way! - Cheerio & an Indian :winky: to you too.

[flamy]

OK, sai I visited your blog, since you were kind enough to post full piece here. Don't advertise too much and take part in the community more. Cheers.

[saikatmaity]

OK' date=' sai I visited your blog, since you were kind enough to post full piece here. Don't advertise too much and take part in the community more. Cheers.[/quote'] Thanks Flamy :hatsoff: And since you visited my blog (which made me tooo happy).. I am posting the next full piece here which was posted on my Blog just yesterday.

[saikatmaity]

Cricket .. Here I come! It was a lifetime dream come true for little Sourav. He could see none other than the legendary Vivian Richards before him, walking past him with a majestic. Some yards away, it was the little master Gavaskar, facing ‘Paaji’ Kapil running to him like an express train. Little Sourav was awestruck. He had taken so much risk by lying to his parents for this moment...Suddenly a cold wave ran through his veins, freezing him to the ground. He saw his father Chandi Ganguly walking towards him. He knew, he was caught ................... ****************************************************** On Sourav’s 14th Birthday, his uncle gifted him a cricket bat. The 14 year old, held the bat and felt a strange sense of power and pride. It was a SG Cricket Bat, used by many legends of his time. Though Sourav still considered football as his passion number# 1, he was slowly but steadily moving towards cricket. He was already playing for his school cricket team. Less than a year later, he was selected for the Under-15 Bengal Cricket team. It was 1987. West Indies was touring India. After India’s historic win at the ’86 world cup, the West Indians had a score to settle. Eden Gardens was hosting one of the test matches. A day before the test match, cricketers of both teams were practicing at the nets in Eden Gardens. It was a great opportunity for Sourav to watch his revered icons in flesh and blood. Snehasis was going to Eden. Sourav wanted to go with him. But the problem was that he had school the next day. He knew he would never get the permission from his parents to miss the classes. What would he do? After thinking hard, he got an idea. But it would be immoral and too risky as well. Finally the temptation to go to Eden got the better of him. He went to his parents and convinced them that the school had declared a holiday, the next day. Unsuspecting his parents happily allowed him to go to see the team practice with his elder brother. But, luck was not with his side. No sooner had he gone to Edens the next morning, his classmate came to house to call him for school. Everyone was shell shocked. They could just not believe that Sourav had lied to them all. Chandi Ganguly asked everyone to take the incident lightly. He asked Sourav’s mother, to pack his school bag and uniform, and headed for Eden gardens. **************************************************** Chandi Ganguly did not scold, nor uttered a single word to the already scared and ashamed Sourav. He asked him to wear his school uniform, and straight away headed for school. While all the while Sourav was repenting for his act, his father knew that young Sourav had started developing an irresistible passion for the game! Source: Inspired by the Book, “Saurav” by Shantipriya Bandopadhay

[anbuchelvan]

Whether you love him or hate him Saurav is a born warier.

[fineleg]

Dada will be worshipped as the legendary Krishna who destroyed a sea snakenext!!!

Its not like we haven't witnessed that :haha:

[Dravid]

sai :two_thumbs_up:

[saikatmaity]

Its not like we haven't witnessed that :haha:

Whether you love him or hate him Saurav is a born warier.

sai :two_thumbs_up:

I wasnt able to do a new post of Sourav yesterday. But, I promise to do it tonight! It will be titled, "U-19 tournament - the birth of a Fighter!" Thank you all for your support and comments, which has kept this thread and my Blog ticking! :hatsoff:

[Mullah_Nayak]

Dada is different because he introduced something called 'pride' in fighting/playing for the country. He also brought in a much needed dosage to stiffen the spine. It is a joy to see the young uns needling other gora players, but it should be remembered that it was Dada who was responsible for that. Jai Ho Dada.

[saikatmaity]

U-19 Tournament - A Fighter is Born There was an absolute lull at the Wankhere Stadium of Mumbai. The spectators were shocked and silenced at the suddenness of the gory occurrence. Although the Stadium was less than half filled, it was still a record turnout at the U-19, India Pakistan final test match. Sourav walked into the green arena, circling his arms to pump in the extra blood into the veins. He could see the previous batsman being helped out of the field. For a second Sourav’s eyes met his face. It was full of blood! Sourav, looked the other way....he tried to focus on the 22 yards. He walked into the crease. But, what he saw gave him the second bolt. There was blood patches. Sourav tried to cover them up with dust. His wasn’t scared but he felt really bad for Jatin. He looked at the umpire and asked for guard. At that moment, he heard the Pakistani wicketkeeper shouting out to Liyak, the pacer, “Come on Liyak. Isshe bhi le lo. Yeh toh darr se kabu ho gayaâ€. The first ball was a bouncer. Sourav ducked. The wicketkeeper shouted again, “mar le mar le! Sabash Liyak! Yeh darpok ko marr le!†Sourav’s jaws tightened, face steel like and eyes determined. He is not a coward, and he will prove that to the Pakistanis, as well as teach them a lesson for what they had done to Jatin Paranjape, the Indian skipper. He decided to take the attack back to the opposition. The fast bowler was running towards him. Sourav, fixed his eyes and mind on the red ball only! ... The complete story is available on my Blog.