The importance of being Sourav Ganguly

“A number of times he used to tell me, ODIs are okay but I want to play 100 Tests. But the double century never got mentioned,” he says.

Many might say that for a batsman of his calibre, the 200 took a lot of time coming. Listening to Roy, one gets to understand that Ganguly reaching his fitness peak late in life could be the reason for his first 200 in the 99 Tests. His mental strength and skills were never doubted, but it was his fitness that was constantly under the scanner.

After Sunday’s knock, opinions on Ganguly have changed. Former Pakistan opener Aamer Sohail speaks about the importance of Ganguly to the team. “In Tendulkar’s absence he took the responsibility on his shoulders. He played a big role in guiding the youngsters like Yuvraj, Kaarthick and Pathan,” says Sohail.

The 36-year-old is no longer dead wood, but the tree trunk that supports the team.

Calling Sourav Ganguly’s slow march towards his 200 a case of “nervous nineties” would be grossly unfair to the man of the moment. On December 26, 2006, Ganguly played his 90th Test against South Africa in Durban, and on the same date this year he will be playing his 100th Test against Australia in Melbourne.

While in his 90s, he has scored 1034 runs so far and that includes two centuries, three half-centuries and now comes the 239.

Roy speaks about the post-Twenty20 World Cup days when there was a lot of talk about the fitter juniors pushing the seniors.

“He came to me a week before the Pakistan series and told me to restart the same regime that we did when he was out of the team. He said that he had a point to prove. I could see the same intensity in his eyes that he showed when he wanted to make a comeback. He didn’t want people questioning his fitness or fielding,” recalls Roy.

With the Bengal Ranji team too training at the Eden, Ganguly became Roy’s star pupil once again. “Half-an-hour of running around the field, ten sprints of 100 m, running through the ladder and several other drills on field were part of daily routine. This was followed by gym work, where the focus was on the abdomen and back,” he says.

That explains Ganguly’s two-over spell after his more than four sessions of batting. That typically Indian trait of resting in the dressing room after a big score is something Ganguly doesn’t believe in these days.

To achieve these fitness levels there were sacrifices to be made. Roy talks about Ganguly’s unflinching diet discipline, and the biggest of all sacrifice for someone in Kolkata — “Even during Durga Puja he didn’t touch any mishti,” he says with a laugh.

Speaking from Siliguri, where the Bengal Ranji team is playing Orissa, the trainer got in touch with the day’s hero at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“You have proved everybody wrong again” was a simple SMS that Ganguly received from Roy.

The trainer expects to send another such SMS during Ganguly’s 100th Test on Boxing Day.