Sourav Ganguly opens up on 'unbelievable' mindset during Lord's debut hundred in 1996

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Apart from his off-side elegance, Ganguly was also a fearless leader as he led India to many overseas victories. Under his captaincy, the ‘Men in Blue’ reached the final of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

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Sourav Ganguly revisits his Test century on debut

Sourav Ganguly made his Test debut during India’s tour of England in 1996 along with Rahul Dravid at Lords in London between June 20 and 24 in 1996. Ganguly celebrated his debut with a Test century as he scored a classy 131 against the English bowlers. The former cricketer recently revisited his debut century during an interview with a leading Indian media daily.

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When asked about what was his mindset during the innings, Sourav Ganguly said that he had no fear at the time. He said that his mindset was 'unbelievable' and he just went out to the crease and played accordingly. He recalled his scores of 0 and 70 not out in the first warm-up game of that tour. Ganguly added he got better as the series progressed and his fearlessness helped him get his maiden Test century.

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Since his debut, Sourav Ganguly went on to have a glorious 16-year journey with Indian cricket. In all, he played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs for the country. The left-hander scored 7,212 and 11,363 runs respectively in both the formats before announcing his retirement in 2008. He scored 38 centuries across Tests and ODIs and is sixth on the list of all-time international century-makers by Indians. Interestingly, India have never lost a Test match whenever Ganguly has scored a hundred. Under his captaincy, India won 21 Tests in 49 matches between 2000 and 2005. In ODIs, he led India in 146 matches, in which the ‘Men in Blue’ won 76 times.

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