Five best innings of Sourav Ganguly

Choosing five of the best innings of Sourav Gangulyis definitely a tough task. The now 41-year-oldin his prime had slammed several such performances that makes it tough to restrict it to just five.Combining silky strokeplay with his brutal assault on oppositionbowlers, Ganguly was arguably one of ODI crickets finest batsman. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the southpaw is still fourth on the list of most number of ODI tons.With 22 hundreds in 311 ODI outings, even six years after he hung his international boots, Gangulys record is one to envy. And even while on Test duty, Ganguly chipped in with several match-defining knocks that many a time guided India to a win. Scoring 7212 runs in the five-day format, studded with 16 centuries is no easy task.Prince of Calcutta, God on the off-side, Dada throughout his career Sourav Ganguly had been a darling amongst his fans. Here are five of the finest knocks from the former Indian skipper:

#5 Keeping calm under pressure

India aren’t too well known for their fourth innings chases. And it comes off as no surprise that while chasing 264 for a win in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka at Kandy during their 2001 tour, India looked a bit nervy.

Prior to this Test, Ganguly had not scored a fifty in his last 13 innings. Though a brave and charismatic leader on the field, Sourav was no more the master with the willow. His very strength on the off side, had turned into his weakness. Opposition captains now laced the slips and off side with fielders as Ganguly continued to feed them catches. But at Kandy, Ganguly refused to fall again in the trap.

He brought up an unbeaten 98 from 152 deliveries as India sealed a 7-wicket win, their first in the Test tour. A rookie 20-year-old Mohammed Kaif looked on from the other end as his skipper burst into jubilation. Many a self-proclaimed critic had written off Sourav during his lean run of form. But the young Kaif definitely learned a few lesson or two as his skipper tamed his demons to guide India to an away win at the Emerald Isle.