How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing

[King]

http://www.rediff.com/rss/redirect.php?url=http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/apr/16dada.htm How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Haresh Pandya in Ahmedabad It was Sourav Ganguly's first experience in an official Twenty20 match -- for Bengal against Haryana, at the Sardar Patel Gujarat stadium at Motera, near Ahmedabad, on Monday morning. He scored 26 off 20 balls, inclusive of two fours and a six, before being run out just when he looked set for a big knock. Surprisingly, for a batsman of his stature and experience, Ganguly began his innings on a subdued note. He opened the innings and was expected to go after the bowlers from the first ball he faced. Instead, he batted as if he was building a Test innings. He faced only medium pacers, and by the time the spinners came on he was back in the dressing room. Bengal went on to win the match by 18 runs. Here is how the former India skipper played the 20 deliveries he faced: 1. Gentle push in the off. No run. 2. Delectable late cut. 2 runs. 3. Offered a dead defence. No run. 4. Tried to slash outside the off-stump. No run. 5. Pushed forward to a slower one. No run. 6. Drove gently in the off. No run. 7. Eye-catching on-drive. 2 runs. 8. Failed to connect the ball. No run. 9. Excellent cover-drive, which was stopped brilliantly. No run. 10. Half-hearted square-drive. No run. 11. Hit the ball high over gully and was dropped. 1 run. 12. Caressed a simple-looking delivery. No run. 13. Lofted the ball in the off. 4 runs. 14. Executed a brilliant cover-drive, but could not pierce the field. 1 run. 15. Sent the ball towards the third-man. 1 run. 16. Confident-looking straight-drive. 2 runs. 17. Lofted the ball over long-on. 6 runs. 18. Classic on-drive. 2 runs. 19. Straight drive, executed in a perfect copybook fashion. The best of all his shots. 4 runs. 20. Delicate late-cut. 1 run. After scoring hit his first 4, off the 13th delivery he faced, Ganguly gave the impression of batting like the vintage Maharaja who usually gets transformed into a super batsman when he dons coloured flannels. In the very next over, he smashed a 2, a 6 and a 4 off three consecutive deliveries. But the brilliance turned out to be transient, as a misunderstanding in running-between-the-wickets with Bengal captain Manoj Tewary saw him return to the pavilion. Tewary hit the ball a few metres away from the fielder, Sachin Rana. He called for a run that was probably not there. Ganguly, who usually keeps quiet (in terms of helping the striker steal quick runs) when at the non-striker's end, responded and ran like a rabbit, but Rana was more alert. He hit the stumps with a direct throw; Ganguly found himself too far away from the crease. Embarrassment and frustration were writ large on the face of the Prince of Kolkata as he began his slow march towards the pavilion.

[King]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Can't believe the media follows even Twenty20s and its performances this closely :shrug:

[Guest dada_rocks]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing can't believe dada is so huge.. come one bowl by bowl stuff in articles, give me a break. btw FIFA has sensed indians are kidn of de-attached with cricket and they are alking loudly in india viz a viz bringing football to the mainstream.. i think it's long over-due

[yoda]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing we have proven that we have and will suck in football. there is more hope in cricket, IMO.

[King]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing What about hockey? Whatever happened to that sport in India? Last time I visited India the bollywood stars and cricketers were campaigning their local hockey teams in some kind of domestic championship. BTW the soccer fever is catching up in India. A lot of young ones know about Man united, Chelsea, English Premier these days.

[chanakya]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Young ones? ever since Star came into India. Kids are familiar with F1, EPL etc. Just yesterday my niece called up. She was so happy that Massa won

[King]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing

Young ones? ever since Star came into India. Kids are familiar with F1, EPL etc. Just yesterday my niece called up. She was so happy that Massa won

Yup young ones about 10-12 years of age, they seem to follow F1, English premier.

[Chandan]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing But you need players and for football and hockey you need terrific fitness along with immense power and of course skill. Just following the game on TV won't do.

[chanakya]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Sports cross all barriers. When India is sucking at cricket. Why wont ppl watch other sports where India dosen't even feature. You dont have to be french to enjoy zidane's skills or wacth that beautiful overtaking by heifield over alonso the other day.

[apocalypse]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Premier Hockey league was a good success

[Rajiv]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Car racing will always be popular but games like hockey wouldn't do so well They might as well watch ice hockey coz its more fast paced and exciting

[Chandan]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing

Premier Hockey league was a good success

And all the credit for that goes to ESPN. Still I felt that the players could be much faster.

[suraj]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing

can't believe dada is so huge.. come one bowl by bowl stuff in articles, give me a break. btw FIFA has sensed indians are kidn of de-attached with cricket and they are alking loudly in india viz a viz bringing football to the mainstream.. i think it's long over-due

Then Bengal association for soccer will demand SG to be made captain of the Indian soccer team :hic:

[Chandan]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing

Can't believe the media follows even Twenty20s and its performances this closely :shrug:

They don't have anything else to do. Why have they not followed Ravneet Ricky's or C Raghu's or Anirudh's knock ball by ball? Afterall their performance was much better! But no. Now tell me who promotes the star culture and makes the stars? Media does all these stupid things and it is players who are blamed!!! :shrug:

[suraj]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing

Can't believe the media follows even Twenty20s and its performances this closely :shrug:

They don't have anything else to do. Why have they not followed Ravneet Ricky's or C Raghu's or Anirudh's knock ball by ball? Afterall their performance was much better! But no. Now tell me who promotes the star culture and makes the stars? Media does all these stupid things and it is players who are blamed!!! :shrug:

I think this is just some random reader on rediff posting vs any real journalist

[Chandan]

Re: How 'Dada' batted in his first Twenty20 outing Care to elaborate what you want to say?