Sourav Ganguly made his Test debut on June 22, 1996, against England at Lord’s and he started his career in grand style by smashing a century.
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Indian cricket in the mid-90s was undergoing a tumultuous phase. They were ‘Tigers at Home, Lambs Abroad’. The situation in the mid-90s followed on the lines of the phrase. After being eliminated in the semi-final of the 1996 World Cup, India embarked on a tour of England. After getting beaten 0-2 in the three-match ODIs against England, the Indian team lost the Edgbaston Test despite a fantastic century from Sachin Tendulkar. In that era, Tendulkar was the Atlas of the Indian cricket team. Once he fell, the rest of the team failed to live up to the hype.
Ahead of the Lord’s Test, there were some divisions in the team. Navjot Singh Sidhu had an argument with skipper Mohammad Azharuddin and he quit the tour mid-way. With the likes of Sanjay Majrekar getting injured, there was a vacancy for two new players heading into the Lord’s Test. On the day of the match, Mohammad Azharuddin handed debut caps to Sourav Ganguly from West Bengal and Rahul Dravid from Karnataka.
Ganguly had already made his ODI debut in the 1992 tour of Australia in the tri-series against West Indies. He had not started well. Rumours of his ‘arrogant attitude’ began to surface in many media outlets. After being dropped, Ganguly went to work hard in the domestic circuit.
Sourav Ganguly scored heavily in the 1993/94 and 1994/95 domestic season. However, it was his knock of 171 in the Duleep Trophy for East Zone that propelled him into the limelight yet again. Ganguly was picked for the tour of England. Although he played one ODI, he was left out of the first Test in Edgbaston.
At Lord’s, England batted first and India had them on the ropes at 107/5. However, Jack Russell the keeper and Graham Thorpe stitched a 136-run stand for the sixth wicket. Thorpe missed his century as he was bowled by Javagal Srinath for 89. But, Russell went on to score his second century as he became the first keeper in 44 years to score a ton at Lord’s. England recovered to 344. India lost Vikram Rathour cheaply and in stepped Ganguly.
The left-hander already showed his elegance and strokeplay through the off side. The offside drives, cuts totally put the England bowlers off their plans. Although India kept losing wickets, Ganguly found vital support in Rahul Dravid, another debutant
Earlier in England’s innings, Ganguly had taken 2/49 in 15 overs and that had put him in a good frame of mind. With the bat, he showed his class. No England bowler was spared. The left-hander became the first overseas player to hit a century on debut in Lord’s. The exhibition of batting made him a star for the future in Indian cricket. However, on 131, he missed a full ball from left-arm pacer Alan Mullally to be bowled.
Dravid, though, kept the fight going. His classical defence and his orthodox strokeplay made for endearing viewing. While Ganguly was class, Dravid was from the old-school of cricket. The Karnataka batsman shared partnerships with the tail as India raced past 400. However, on 95, Dravid edged Chris Lewis and he missed the chance to become the second debutant to score a ton at Lord’s.
The tears that day summed up the desire Dravid wanted. India drew the Test match but in the course of the five days, the new superstars of Indian cricket emerged. The duo would take a massive burden of Sachin Tendulkar’s shoulders. In the next game at Trent Bridge, Ganguly would respond with 136 while Dravid hit 84. India drew the third and final Test. Although they had lost the series 0-1, the emergence of Dravid and Ganguly was a boon for Indian cricket.
The 1996 tour of England was the launchpad for the superstardom of Dravid and Ganguly. The Bengal left-hander started brilliantly with five tons in his first 12 Tests but his returns tapered. Dravid, on the other hand, was out in the 90s a few times before he converted his first big century. Dravid’s 148 in Johannesburg would prove to be a turning point in his career.
In his 113-Test career, Ganguly amassed 7212 runs at an average of 42 with 16 centuries. It was as the captain of the Indian team that he had the maximum impact. In his tenure, India were no longer Tigers at Home, Lambs Abroad. They would take the opponents on in their own backyard. It is thanks to Ganguly’s leadership that India are now a world superpower.
Dravid, on the other hand, became one of the greats of Indian cricket. In 164 Tests, he hit 13288 runs with 36 fifties at an average of 52. The Karnataka right-hander became the first Indian player to hit a century in all countries, something that even the great Sachin Tendulkar had not achieved. Dravid also took 200 catches and his captaincy is punctuated by historic series wins in England and West Indies.
It was a journey of contrasts. But, in the end, two young men came onto the scene on June 22, 1996 and changed the face of Indian cricket forever.
