Every year the first week of July is special for 2 reasons, two of India's greatest among other great cricketers celebrate their Birthdays in a gap of a solitary day(born on different years of course)
The very mention of one or both of their names brings about a spectrum of varied emotions ranging from Demi God like Worship to Sarcastic chides. Such is the effect these two gentlemen have evoked on millions of Indians and cricket lovers alike throughout the face of this planet.
Sourav Ganguly (born 8th July) was as unique to Indian cricket as the word unique could be interpreted. Grit/Aggression could have easily been his middle name, as he came up into the International cricket scene in 1992 as a cropper against the West Indies on his debut and was dropped immediately for being arrogant and having temperamental issues, but there began his journey of struggles and comebacks. Ironically, Dada as he was to be later called; was summoned to his Test Debut in 1996 to replace a certain Navjot Singh Sidhu who was dropped because of a tiff with the captain. Talk about life coming a w
hole circle. He batted like a dream, scoring a blazing century stamped with the signature Ganguly Cover Drives and straight drives that put could put any world class bowler's 140 km/hr+ delivery to shame and enroute to the boundary more often than not.
The most significant aspect of his career was by far his Leadership skills apart from his staggering batting record only second to the God of Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar. What captains post the Kapil Dev era couldn't do, Ganguly managed to do. He instilled in the team a certain confidence and winning spirit which his predecessors couldn't manage. This clearly showed on the team which bagged a string of victories both at home and away, the pinnacle of which was the World Cup Final appearance of 2003. Although the team lost to Australia, the current Goliath's of the cricket World, little could be done to stop the Indian juggernaut post 2003 with victories in Pakistan and Australia. Post 2005 Ganguly's career took a turn for the worse with his loss of captaincy and place in the team. This seemed to show on the team's performance as well, which went on to face a string of defeats in the 2006-2007 seasons culminating with the shameful first round exit from the World Cup in 2007. Then came the comeback of comebacks, batting in seaming conditions in South Africa, Ganguly again stamped his class with a patient inning while the famed Indian batting crumbled and danced to the swing and pace of the South African fast bowlers. His international career ended like a fairytale with his last series against Australia after which he stuck around for 4 more seasons of the cash rich IPL.
The other man in question is currently one of India's favorite sons. The man with the Midas Touch Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born on 8th of July. Traditionally drafted into the team as a second choice wicket keeper to replace the shoddy Dinesh Karthik he consolidated his place with his flamboyant and explosive batting. Armed with his 'Helicopter Shot', he managed to send many a ball into the viewing galleries with an alarming frequency. However with the likes of VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly being axed from the One day squad, Dhoni grew into the captaincy role in quick time and took India to its first T-20 world cup victory in South Africa in 2007. He then went from Strength to strength taking the team to successive victories in Austalia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the coming few seasons. The crowning glory of his career till then would be the clinical World Cup win he would chalk out at home in 2011. With his cool headed captaincy and carefully strategised plans, the team could trump any opposition with impressive consistency. His IPL career was also equally eventful, with his team the Chennai Super Kings making every single semi-final since the inception of the tournament and winning successive titles in the years 2010 and 2011. They were suitably likened to 'Manchester United' of the IPL for their consistent and crisp cricket.
The commonalities that exist between these two gentlemen are plenty.
1. They were both born in July (obvious).
2. Both came from Non-traditional cricketing backgrounds, Ganguly from Bengal and Dhoni from Jharkhand.
3. Both ascended the captaincy role when the team was in turmoil, Ganguly when the Match Fixing scandal was at its prime in 1999 and Dhoni took over after India's first round shock exit from the 2007 World Cup.
4. Both of them actually preferred football to cricket when they were young but fate took precedence and they have not looked back since.
5. Ganguly's highest score of 183 against Sri Lanka was equalled by Dhoni who hit the very same 183 against 'surprise surprise' Sri Lanka again.
It remains to be seen how Indian cricket scales greater heights under the cool and calculative head of M.S Dhoni who surprisingly made his debut under Sourav Ganguly. The uncanny similarities between these two just makes one wonder if it is indeed a play of destiny by the stars or a tale of magic written by the gods.
