Poetic justice: Ton on debut, duck to bow out

Dada walks into bat for one final time



Dada walks back to the pavilion for one final time


Dada getting out for a DUCK

Maybe it was poetic justice. Everyone had though that DADA had played his final Test innings and everyone was as disappointed as he would have been to not to have scored a century.Obituaries had already been written. It was a sad end indeed.

But destiny brought him back two days later..Maybe he was given one more chance by almighty to achieve his dreams.The rousing reception was befitting of the figure, thin attendance notwithstanding. Even the Australians lined up to applaud. Ganguly acknowledged and walked up to Sachin Tendulkar for a brief chat, then walked back to take guard. It was the same bowler who cut his fairytale short in the first innings. Jason Krejza was on debut. He turned his bat too early. Krejza completed the catch. Ganguly was out for nought, first ball.

It reminds you of the Don. He was out for a duck in his last innings. Those who saw him say he was teary-eyed. He needed only four runs from his last knock to bow out with a batting average of 100. It would have been perfect, an ode to his prowess that was on display on either side of World War II. Yet, he finished on 99.94. Some say this is the very reason the Don lives on for generations. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was human. Even he wasn't perfect. The comparison ends here.

Over the years, Ganguly was increasingly revered for his captaincy. His batting, although not forgotten, had been eclipsed. His aggressive batting was not as talked about as his firebrand personality. He made a triumphant return to the side two years ago. He scored all the runs. But even his colleagues paid tributes to him as the leader who changed things for them.

Even his one-day career ended without prior notice. Someone with more than 11000 runs was done away with at the start of the year. It was not a fitting end. But he wanted to go out of Test cricket on his own terms. By his own admission, he might have never returned if a new selection regime had not taken over.

Ganguly was never perfect. He was all too human. His triumphs are interspersed with failure. His rise has been riddled with ridicule. His setbacks were trumped by his comebacks. There was conflict in every aspect of his cricketing career. He scored a hundred on debut. There was no way he could end with a century. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was no Bradman. He could never have been Bradman. He was Sourav Ganguly.....our very own DADA