Sourav Ganguly's first century as India's captain in an ICC event; watch video

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly made his international debut in January 1992 against West Indies. The cricketer ascended to captaincy in 2000 and remained Team India’s leader till 2005. His first major assignment as Indian captain came during the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy (known as ICC KnockOut Trophy at the time). In the semi-final match against South Africa, the left-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 141 while facing the likes of Shaun Pollock, Alan Donald, Lance Klusener and Jacques Kallis. To commemorate the Sourav Ganguly birthday occasion on Wednesday, here is a look at his 141-run knock that turned to be his first century as the captain of India in an International Cricket Council (ICC) event.

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Sourav Ganguly birthday: Newly appointed captain’s match-winning effort vs South Africa

On October 3, 2000, India faced South Africa in the semifinal of the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy. After winning the toss and batting first, Sourav Ganguly opened the innings with his predecessor Sachin Tendulkar. While Sachin Tendulkar departed for 39, the Indian captain kept going strong. The stylish left-hander notched up his 14th ODI hundred by scoring an unbeaten 141 off 142 balls. His effort comprised of 11 boundaries and six sixes and it propelled India’s score to 295-6 in 50 overs. Sourav Ganguly’s knock turned to be in a match-winning cause as the ‘Men in Blue’ pipped the South Africans by 95 runs. Ganguly was also fittingly awarded as the ‘Player of the Match’.

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Sourav Ganguly birthday: Sourav Ganguly’s 141* vs South Africa, watch video

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Sourav Ganguly birthday: Sourav Ganguly stats and BCCI Presidency

Since his ODI debut in 1992, Sourav Ganguly went on to enjoy a glorious 16-year journey with Indian cricket. In all, he played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs for the country. The Sourav Ganguly stats section composes of 7,212 Test runs and 11,363 ODIs runs before he announced his retirement in 2008. He scored 38 centuries across all formats and is sixth on the list of all-time international century-makers by Indians.

Interestingly, India never lost a Test match whenever Ganguly scored a Test hundred. Coming to Sourav Ganguly stats in terms of captaincy, India won 21 Tests in 49 matches between 2000 and 2005. In ODIs, he led the ‘Men in Blue’ in 146 matches to register 76 wins.

Even after retirement, Sourav Ganguly has been in continuous association with the game, albeit as a cricket administrator. He is currently serving as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he was appointed to the role in October 2019. Previously, Sourav Ganguly was the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) between 2015 and 2019.

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Image credit: Screenshot from Cricket Australia YouTube