15 years later, Dada still Lord of Lord's

KOLKATA: Fifteen years is a long time in the life of a sportsperson, but for Sourav Ganguly, memories of Lord's are still fresh in his mind. It was on June 22, 1996, that Sourav became the first Indian cricketer to hit a century on Test debut at the 'Mecca' of cricket. He remains the only one to do so.

"It's been a long time, but those are very happy memories," says Sourav, reminicising about the English summer that heralded the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket.

Chasing England's first-innings tally of 344, Sourav, who came in to bat at 25 for one, stood firm at one end even as India lost the wickets of Nayan Mongia (24), Sachin Tendulkar (31), Mohammad Azharuddin (16) and Ajay Jadeja (10) before he found an able ally in another debutant, Rahul Dravid.

The duo shared a 94-run partnership for the sixth wicket to help India gain a first innings lead of 85. Sourav, who was unbeaten on 26 on Day 2 (June 21), went on to make a flawless 131, but Dravid was unlucky to miss his century by just five runs.

"It was easily the best moment of my career. A century on debut at Lord's ... it doesn't get bigger than this," Sourav told TOI. "Looking back, I feel it was destiny at work," he adds.

To say that he was under pressure would be an understatement. Included as the fifth pacer, who could also bat, Sourav was under no illusion that it was going to be a make-or-break series for him. Not picked for the first two ODIs, Sourav made a splendid 46 on a seaming Old Trafford wicket in the final match. Yet, he was ignored for the first Test at Edgbaston that India went on to lose by eight wickets.

A twist of fate paved the way for Sourav's Test debut. His room partner on the tour, Navjot Singh Sidhu, had staged a walk-out from the team after a row with skipper Azharuddin. "I knew after the Derbyshire game that I would get my chance and was determined to grab it," says Sourav. Sourav admits to being a tad nervous when handed over the India cap on June 20, but with Azhar choosing to field first after winning the toss, there was time for the two Indian debutants to settle down.

"Look, it was a dream come true for me to pull on the India cap. My first day in Test cricket was a fruitful one as I picked up two wickets ( Nasser Hussain and Graeme Hick). It gave me added confidence," says Sourav, who later batted as if he was born to play Test cricket.

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West Indies 131/3 at stumps on Day 3, need 195 more runs to win

KINGSTON: West Indies reached 131 for three against India at stumps on third day of the first Test chasing a stiff victory target of 326 set by the visitors courtesy Rahul Dravid's memorable 32nd Test century.


An intriguing battle is on cards as the match is expected to be decided on fourth day itself with West Indies requiring 195 runs and visitors needing another seven wickets.

Darren Bravo (30 batting) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (24 batting) added 51 runs for the undefeated fourth wicket stand after the Caribbeans were reduced to 80 for three.

The West Indian openers Adrian Barath (38, 36 balls, 4x4, 2x6) and Lendl Simmons (27, 41 balls, 3x4, 1x6) started in a whirlwind fashion adding 62 runs in 10.5 overs.

Barath in particular was in T20 mode as he hit Ishant for couple of sixes and four in over before Praveen Kumar made him flash at an away going delivery to be caught by Suresh Raina at slips.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (0) was snapped up brilliantly by Virat Kohli off Ishant Sharma. Simmons was beaten by an Ishant delivery that held its line to hit the off-stump.

The day however belonged to Dravid. His effort of 112 (274 balls, 10x4, 1x6) had its worth weight in gold as the battle-hardened veteran brought up one of his most satisfying three-figure mark on track where batting was difficult.

He was the last man to be dismissed after nearly six and half hour vigil as he tried hit Devendra Bishoo (4/65) out of the park. The wicket was a two-paced one where the other top-order batsmen struggled for survival. The 38-year-old former India captain was a picture of confidence as he brought up his hundred in 252 balls when he jabbed a Fidel Edwards delivery to scamper home for a single.

Amit Mishra (28, 60 balls, 4x4) whose sensible batting at the other end helped Dravid reach his individual milestone also deserves credit. The duo added 56 runs for the ninth wicket after Harbhajan Singh (5) and Praveen Kumar (0) departed early after lunch with India reeling at 183 for eight.

When Mishra departed at 239, India have stretched their lead past 300 which looked to be a formidable one considering the nature of the track.

The day however belonged to Dravid who showed that when the circumstances are adverse, there is no substitute to watertight technique and enormous powers of concentration. The effort was even more laudable as he showed lot of gumption while batting with the tail.

This is Dravid's fourth century against the West Indies, and he has now surpassed 1500 runs against the Caribbeans.

If the first session belonged to West Indies who pegged India back with triple strikes of Virat Kohli (15), Suresh Raina (27) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (16), the post lunch session till tea was all about Dravid's patience and Mishra trying to counter attack.

Starting the day at 91 for three, India reached 166 for six at lunch with Dhoni being dismissed at stroke of lunch. The Indian captain should consider himself unlucky as Bishoo had overstepped during the delivery.

During the post-lunch session, Harbhajan Singh (5) curbed his natural instincts to play shots and dropped anchor at one end. However a debatable decision from umpire Daryl Harper saw him back in the hut. The delivery from Sammy hit him on the left thigh and was clearly heading over the stumps.

Sammy then picked up Praveen Kumar (0) as he played a nothing sort of short going for an ugly hoick when the situation demanded some discretion.

But then Mishra joined Dravid which could well prove to be the decisive partnership of the match.

A cautious Dravid tried to shield him initially by refusing singles early in overs but it didn't take him long to develop trust on Mishra who even looked good against the second new-ball.

Dravid was on 80 when Mishra joined him but the pair frustrated the hosts immensely and stretched the lead beyond 300 runs.

Once Dravid reached his hundred, Mishra hit a spanking cover drive as if to celebrate the feat of his senior. It also followed with a solid square cut as the West Indians got increasingly frustrated.

Dravid first played a risky shot after completing his ton. It was a straight six off Bishoo. However Mishra who had gained in a lot of confidence as he tried to slash Sammy only to be holed out in the third man region.

Ishant Sharma started off with a cover driven boundary. He could have been Sammy's fifth victim but a stiff return catch was just out of reach for the West Indian captain.

It was Bishoo who finally got his seventh victim of the match when Dravid tried an uncharacteristic ugly hoick that was easily caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan. It was an effort that saw him get standing ovation from his teammates.

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