Burden off my shoulders, says Ganguly

Ganguly's reaction on reaching hundred betrayed his emotions as he raised his bat, threw his hands up and almost jumped in joy.

Having hit his first international century at Eden Gardens, local hero Sourav Ganguly said the knock had taken a burden off his shoulders.

“Expectations will always be high wherever I play. But getting a hundred at Eden is always special. The century here has definitely taken the burden off my shoulders,” Ganguly said after hitting a scintillating 102 on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan.

The left-hander said since he grew up playing on this ground it was a different feeling to get a hundred at Eden.

“This is definitely my best innings at the Eden. It feels great to score a hundred at any part of the world, but scoring a hundred here is always different. Since I have played all my life on this ground, it is always a different feeling. It would have been very disappointing if I had missed out.”

Ganguly has totalled a miserly 292 in his previous seven Test matches at the Eden, at a below par average of 24.33.

His only previous 50 plus score on this ground had come eight and half years back against Australia when he got 65.

Ganguly’s immediate reaction on reaching the hundred also betrayed his emotions as he raised his bat, threw his hands up and almost jumped in joy, as the entire Eden gave their favourite cricketing star a rousing ovation.

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Asked how he planned his innings, Ganguly said, “I played each ball on its merit. And I got help from the fast outfield as well. The important thing was to stay there and focus on batting.”