Jump to content

When Tendulkar almost sent Sourav Ganguly home midway from the 1997 Caribbean tour


Switchblade

Recommended Posts

Posted

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/When-Tendulkar-almost-sent-Sourav-Ganguly-home-midway-from-the-1997-Caribbean-tour/articleshow/30954310.cms Captain Sachin Tendulkar almost sent an errant Sourav Ganguly home midway from the Caribbean tour of 1997 for not doing what he had been told to - go for a morning run - after a humiliating Test defeat, the latter reveals in a new book. The incident happened immediately after the third Test in Barbados which India lost narrowly by 38 runs. Set to chase 120 on a wearing track with uneven bounce, the visitors collapsed for a paltry 81. The Windies pace trio - Ian Bishop four for 22, Curtley Ambrose three for 36 and Franklyn Rose three for 19 -- shared the spoils. Ganguly begins the anecdote with an admission: "My fault, actually." Then he goes on write, "Sachin was utterly dejected and very angry with us. To get him to think positive and stop beating himself and us up so much, I asked him to tell me what to do. "Go for a run tomorrow morning," he said. "It's a story to tell now, but when he found out that I had missed the morning run the next day, his face was almost purple with anger. He told me, in language that cannot be printed, that he was going to send me home and I should sort myself out because my career could be ending. The thought of being sent home was enough to light a fire under my shoes. I wouldn't have broken any records, never have, never will, but from the next morning, I was up and running." Ganguly's recollection is part of a write-up titled, Gifts, appetite, game sense and very little Bengali, from the book, Sachin Tendulkar: The man cricket loved back. Put together by a website, the anthology comprises 41 reminiscences and essays on the game's greatest ever star. As a captain, Tendulkar was seen as a failure. Under his captaincy, India won four Tests and lost nine. But Ganguly provides a justification of sorts for the poor record even as he takes an indirect dig at the current skipper MS Dhoni. "Sachin was a better captain than his results show and better than people make him out to be. He led on some very tough tours - South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia - and it must be said he didn't lose eight in a row. This when he didn't have a very good team around him. The older players were fading and the newcomers were too raw," he explains. Every article in the book lauds the Mumbai batting maestro. But when high praise comes from Allan Donald, who took the wicket of Tendulkar 10 times in the five Tests and five ODIs where both figured, it perhaps means a little more. In the article headlined, The man who made you plan for weeks, the South Africa speedster writes, "You didn't work Tendulkar out in days. You had to plan for him weeks in advance. Otherwise, he could frustrate bowlers. When Hansie Cronje was the captain, our thinking was that the first 20 balls we had to make Tendulkar play every single one, even if we leaked runs. We also decided that we were not going to test him with the short ball early on: it was an easy way for him to get himself into his innings. We wanted to make him sweat as much as we could. He goes on to say, "When a great batsman is in form, that is when you get really challenged as a fast bowler. Tendulkar turned that bowler's ego to his advantage. We saw it dozens of times, when he counerpunched really well. He had that ability, when the bowler was at his best and in fantastic rhythm and bowling at his optimum pace, to come in and change the state of the game, to hit you off your line, get you out of the attack. He was careful, but if you offered him half a chance he would make you pay. With Tendulkar you were always working with fine, fine margins."

Posted

Tendulkar was very angry after that test. I remember his quotes. Selfish players will be shown the door. Actually, now when I see Dhoni as test captain. Tendulkar was pretty good at times. Maybe could have had a better team.

Posted
what raw. probably he has a good batting lineup. He doesnt know how to manage fast bowlers. No one asked him to play zaheer.
hold on your hate for a day or two :winky:
Posted
hold on your hate for a day or two :winky:
No hate. take your CSK yellow glasses off and see the big picture. Its not just about Chennai. As a captain of the country he has to make better selection and management of fast bowlers. May be he didn't play ranji for long as a captain. I am still not talking about his strategies.
Posted
Same is/was Dhoni's case
I am not a fan of Tendulkar's captaincy. But Dhoni's test match captaincy is inexplicable at times. I am not judging him just by numbers. Clarke also lost a number of tests before the Ashes, but I have always rated him as a very good captain even in defeat. Dhoni is completely opposite of that. He often looks clueless as a captain in overseas tests. Why on earth would you play 3 bowlers in a must win test? And I said this on the first morning of the test when we were on top. Sooner or later it had to backfire.
Posted
FYKI dhoni is not from chennai .. and another wheel chair analyst spitting venom :dance:
Isnt your support because he is captain of CSK ? you are in a minority. I am not the only here.
Posted
Isnt your support because he is captain of CSK ? you are in a minority. I am not the only here.
no.. i support him for his many other awesome qualities :winky:
Posted
Sachin was a better captain than his results show and better than people make him out to be. He led on some very tough tours - South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia - and it must be said he didn't lose eight in a row. This when he didn't have a very good team around him. The older players were fading and the newcomers were too raw," he explains.
one more from the article.. :hysterical:
Blimey' date=' Ganguly is destroying Dhoni![/quote'] Any surprise that Dada wants to be known as the greatest captain India ever produced ?
Posted
One more difference. Sachin had match fixers in his team who were deliberately sabotaging the team. Dhoni himself......................
:hysterical: below the belt
Posted
One more difference. Sachin had match fixers in his team who were deliberately sabotaging the team. Dhoni himself......................
:giggle::giggle: but don't think he would himself fix the match.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...