On Wednesday, former Indian skipper, Sourav Ganguly is celebrating his 48th birthday and on a special day, the International Cricket Council (ICC) revisited his memorable match-winning knock of 141* against South Africa in Nairobi in the semi-final of the ICC KnockOut Trophy in 2000.
Despite acing a stern challenge from the Proteas bowling attack which comprises of Allan Donald, Jacques Kallis, and Shaun Pollock, Ganguly, who had only recently been appointed as the Indian captain, stood strong and led from the front as India beat South Africa to reach the final of the tournament.
Here is the video of Ganguly’s stellar knock here:
On his birthday, relive Sourav Ganguly's stunning 141* against South Africa in the semi-final of the ICC KnockOut Trophy 2000 🎉 pic.twitter.com/BK53IPuXpJ
— ICC (@ICC) July 8, 2020
In his knock of 141 not out, Sourav Ganguly smashed 11 boundaries and six sixes as he helped India to reach a total of 295/6. Rahul Dravid, with a patient 58, and Yuvraj Singh with his fiery 41, provided Ganguly with support in India’s innings. South Africa crumbled under the pressure during the chase as the men in blue bundled them out for 200 to reach the final of the tournament.Â
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Ganguly carried his superb form into the final as he scored a century in the final as well but a Chris Cairns-inspired New Zealand still managed to chase down a competitive target of 265 with two deliveries to spare to win the match by four wickets.
Cricket Australia also paid a special tribute to Sourav Ganguly as they shared a video of one of his iconic knocks that came against arch-rivals Pakistan. It the ODI from the triangular series featuring India, Pakistan, and Australia. The match was played in Adelaide in 2000 where Dad smashed 141 runs against a formidable Pakistan bowling attack.
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Captioning the video on Twitter, Cricket Australia wrote: “Happy birthday! to @SGanguly99, who had a day out in Adelaide in 2000, scoring 141 against an attack featuring Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, and Saqlain Mushtaq”.
Happy birthday! to @SGanguly99, who had a day out in Adelaide in 2000, scoring 141 against an attack featuring Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq! pic.twitter.com/MwCkhEa8Eo
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 8, 2020
In that match, Sachin Tendulkar was leading the team, and Ganguly, who was his opening partner, ended up being the highest run-scorer with a knock of 141 that included 12 boundaries and a six.
Ganguly’s century helped the men in blue set a competitive target of 268 to Pakistan. In reply, Pakistan was bundled out for 219, falling 48 runs short of the target. Sourav ended the tri-nation series as the leading run-scorer for India, as he had amassed 356 runs at an impressive average of over 50.
