Birthday special: Reliving 3 best years for Sourav Ganguly in ODIs

One of the finest batsmen in Indian cricket history, Sourav Ganguly turned a year older and celebrated his 51st birthday on Saturday (July 8). The 'Prince of Calcutta' is currently part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) coaching camp and is also a part-time broadcaster.

Ganguly is considered as probably the most influential Indian captain ever. He reshaped the squad from an insignificant Test-playing team away from home to a team that would challenge even the best in the world.

Prior to taking over as skipper, the former BCCI president made a name for himself as one of the most stylish and prolific batters the nation had ever seen.

In his 15-year career, the swashbuckling left-hander played 424 international games and amassed 18,575 runs, including 107 half-centuries and 38 tons.

👕 424 international matches
🏏 18575 runs
💯 38 centuries
☝️ 132 wickets

🌟 One of India's best captains
👑 The Prince of Calcutta
🏏 The God of the Off Side
💪 The man who revolutionalised Indian cricket

Happy Birthday, Sourav Ganguly! 🇮🇳🥳 https://t.co/FAeU41SdPo

Famously known as the 'Dada' of cricket, Ganguly was among the best players during his career and never shied away from any challenge.

The 'Prince of Calcutta's ODI career was particularly impressive, as his 11,363 ODI runs are still the third-highest for India in the history of the format.

As Sourav Ganguly celebrates his 51st birthday, we take a look at three of his best years in terms of runs in ODI matches for India.

#3 1997 - 1,338 runs

Sourav Ganguly of India in 1997 [Getty Images]

After starting his career as a finisher in 1996, Ganguly was pushed up the order as an opener alongside Sachin Tendulkar in 1997 and quickly excelled in his role.

After making just 269 runs in the previous year, the left-hander amassed 1,338 runs in 1997, which was the most by any batter in that year. Although he made only one century that year, Ganguly passed the 50-run mark 10 times.

The Southpaw top-scored with 222 runs in a five-match ODI series against Pakistan in Toronto and even averaged 59.00 in the Asia Cup, where India lost in the final against Sri Lanka.

#2 2000 - 1,579

From 1997 to 2000, Ganguly scored a plethora of runs and even set a record for scoring over 1,300 ODI runs for four consecutive years. This is a remarkable achievement given that no other player has mustered over 1,300 ODI runs in even two consecutive years.

The year of 2000 saw Ganguly play 32 one-day internationals, where he scored 1,579 runs at an incredible average of 56.39 (his best average in any year).

The year was indeed extremely special for the opener as he clobbered as many as seven ODI hundreds, which is still the joint-second-most by any batter in a single calendar year. Ganguly also reached the 50-run mark six times during the course of the year.

He started the year by scoring 359 runs at an average of over 50 in a tri-series against hosts Australia and Pakistan. He then top-scored in a five-match ODI series against South Africa at home (285 runs at an average of 71.2).

Later in the year, Ganguly led India to the finals of the ICC Knockout Trophy, amassing 348 runs at a mind-boggling average of 116.00 across four innings. He capped off the year with a resounding score of 144 against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad.

It was this year that Ganguly took the reins of a highly-vulnerable Indian team. The transformation of the Indian team that took place under the Bengal cricketer is legendary.

#1 1999 - 1,767 runs

India VS Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup [Getty Images]

Ganguly, in his dominating manner, broke every record and decimated every opposition he faced in his career-best year of 1999.

The former India skipper mustered as many as 1,767 ODI runs at an average of 46.50 and at a strike rate of 76.00 in 1999. In fact, Ganguly's 1,767 ODI runs is the second-most a batter has scored in a single calendar year, after Sachin Tendulkar's 1,894 runs in 1998.

Ganguly started the year by scoring 278 runs (the most in the series) in a tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Then came the ICC World Cup, where India failed to qualify for the knockouts but Ganguly had a great tournament, scoring 379 runs across seven innings. He even notched up his career-best score in the tournament when he scored 183 runs in a game against Sri Lanka in Taunton.

Two months after the World Cup, Ganguly once again top-scored in a four-nation (India, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and South Africa) ODI series when he hammered 208 runs across four innings.

The flamboyant and classy batsman finished his incredible year with a 'Man of the Series' performance against New Zealand at home. In the five-match ODI series, Ganguly scored 301 runs at a great average of over 70.