Ganguly plays backyard bully

If there is ever a list of cricketing comebacks compiled,Sourav Ganguly would definitely figure pretty high on it.

If there is ever a list of cricketing comebacks compiled,Sourav Ganguly would definitely figure pretty high on it. On Thursday,against Deccan Chargers and under fire for his disappointing show so far in the tournament,he chose the familiar environs of the Eden Gardens to silence his critics.

There had been enormous pressure on the Kolkata Knight Riders captain coming into this game. He had struggled to force the pace in past game and,save a 50 against Kings XI Punjab,hasnt really contributed to his teams fortunes. Yes,he Ganguly hasnt been in the best of form,but write him off at your own peril, a KKR player had said on match eve. Ganguly didnt disappoint.

To add to the pressure,team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan too was running out of patience. After last matchs loss against Delhi Daredevils,he had said the time for excuses was over. Ganguly,in reply,let his bat do the talking as he scored a 54-ball 88 and KKR scored a 24 run victory.

The first ball that Ganguly faced,a loosener from Kemar Roach on the leg stump,flew to the square-leg boundary. A square drive followed,and the pace was maintained throughout the innings. His blazing knock was studded with nine fours and five sixes. A century was in sight when he perished,trying to clear the mid-wicket boundary.

There wasnt much support at the other end,but for once,it didnt matter to Ganguly,who was in a zone. Pragyan Ojha bore the maximum brunt,going for four massive sixes three of them in one over before finally getting back as Ganguly holed out to Rohit Sharma in the deep.

The scoreboard read 146 for 4 but by then,the captain had made a contribution significant enough to finally prove to be the match-winner. Some lusty hitting by David Hussey kept the momentum up to take the Kolkata score to 181.

In reply,Deccan skipper Adam Gilchrist got out cheaply yet again but Herschelle Gibbs 50 off 45 and Andrew Symonds 45 off 37 threatened to spoil Gangulys party. It wasnt enough,however,thanks to some tight bowling by the Kolkata spinners Murali Kartik and Angelo Mathews in the middle and in the end,182 turned out to be too stiff a target. The win took the Knights to fifth in the points table with eight points,same as Rajasthan and Bangalore.

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Ganguly has already hinted that he will hang up his boots from all formats of the game after this edition of the IPL. I would like to go out on a high,on my own terms, he has said. Thursdays performance would go a long way in helping him do so.