Ahead of Centurion, Indian batsmen need to draw inspiration from Fab Four's weakest link

Major test of character lies ahead for Kohli and his men in South Africa

It was December 2006 and India’s ODI success that had peaked under the Dravid-Chappell combination had started to desert them. Blooding in youngsters by axing seniors had seemed to herald a new era under the stewardship of the new coach and captain and yielded results at home, but once out of their comfort zones, these youngsters were found out in no time. Not only did success desert the team but defeats began to become more and more embarrassing with India failing to even come close to touching the silverware in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 held at home. The ODI series in South Africa later that year proved to be an eye-opener on how ill-equipped the young boys were at handling pace and bounce outside the subcontinent. The 4-0 loss doesn’t look half as bad on paper as it was on the pitch.

Ahead of the Test Series, it became clear that there was a need to get some experience in the batting lineup and in walked Sourav Ganguly, nine months after he had last donned India whites. He was dropped after the Karachi Test, the only match he had played in what was his comeback series and in which he had scored more than Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman, but such was Guru Greg’s command over the team back then.

In the first and only tour match, India were staring down the barrel at 69/5 when Ganguly and Pathan joined forces to forge a 149 run face-saving stand, with Ganguly scoring 83. His return to the highest level couldn’t have been more dramatic as he came back to the Test fold with a 51* on a Johannesburg pitch on which South Africa were bundled out for 84 batting next, thanks to a Sreesanth special. India emerged victorious in the first Test to clinch their first Test win on South African soil and Ganguly, if not well and truly back, was not going to be given the marching orders after a single dig this time. Things, however, went downhill for the team from there on as they lost the subsequent Tests to concede the series but Ganguly had emerged the highest run scorer. 214 runs might look meager returns for a three-match Test series but the fact that only two names topped him in the most runs scored table and neither of them was Indian speaks volume of Ganguly’s contribution with the willow.

So, how did a man perennially taunted for his struggles against short-pitched stuff and in the twilight of his career playing for his place in the side emerge India’s top run scorer on pitches tailor-made for him to fail against the mean battery of pacers that included Pollock, Ntini, Steyn and Nel? One word. Grit. The passage of play that well and truly encapsulated the left hander’s gift of grit came in the third Test. Joining Tendulkar at the crease on the first day of the final Test, the third delivery Ganguly faced from a young and rapid Steyn thwacked him right on the helmet grill. On air, the commentator quipped “Never seen a world-class batter play the short ball this badly” as he looked winded from the blow. What happened next? A couple of balls later a beautiful drive flowed from his blade off the same bowler, no prizes for guessing on which side of the pitch. Nine more of them followed, including a biggie and again no prizes for guessing against which kind of bowler. He was the last man to be dismissed on 66 off 75 deliveries. That was Ganguly for you, at least the one who turned up in 2006.

The size of Ganguly’s ordeals was far bigger than those of the current batting line-up’s combined when he flew to join the squad in South Africa more than a decade ago. While everyone else had to contend with green tops, this man was batting on thin ice and the depths of the water beneath was enough to ensure he never returned to the highest level again. But, as on so many occasions in his career, he rose above the adversity to deliver when most expected him to be a sitting duck against the class of South Africa’s bowling attack. In his case, there was no magic potion or silver bullet. He just regularly spent more time in the nets on that tour. And then there was some fire in the belly which made him what fans all over the country refer to him as - Dada.

In an interview three years later he gave a peek into the mental state of that man with a purpose. He recalled, "My mindset... As I’ve told you, I could’ve had my teeth or jaw broken, could even have been killed, but I was determined."

After having batted like fish out of water in the First Test, the current batting stars of the team need to take a leaf out from Ganguly’s winter in South Africa in 2006. There cannot be and should not be any hiding behind excuses of a world-class bowling attack and lack of practice. If a 34-year-old man, with all the odds stacked against him, can make runs on South African pitches, so can the likes of Kohli, Vijay, and Pujara. All that’s needed sometimes is that fire in the belly. A debacle of the kinds India faced at Cape Town can lead to some much-needed soul-searching for the players. Whatever answers come out of that won’t suffice if they don’t discover that Ganguly like determination to succeed.  
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