Sourav Chandidas Ganguly

The Prince of Calcutta was the King of Nairobi on Friday. Ever since he burst upon the international scene in England in 1996, Sourav Ganguly's batting has provided much joy to cricket fans the world over. His sublime strokeplay, based on the ideal blend of power, timing and elegance, has driven the best of bowlers to despair. The bigger the stage, the better he plays. And he proved this on Friday. Well before the end of the Indian innings, he had the world class bowlers and fielders at his mercy. The 28-year-old Indian captain made his intentions clear from the very beginning. Like in the match against Australia, he and Sachin Tendulkar took the South African bowling apart and after Tendulkar left, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid just piled on the pressure so much that the normally well disciplined South African side resembled an army on the run. Ganguly dominated the partnership, which added 145 runs off 25 overs. The coup de grace was provided by Ganguly and Yuvaraj Singh during their stand which was worth 82 runs off 9.5 overs.

But while Tendulkar, Dravid and Yuvraj all played their parts admirably in getting India to a match winning total, there is little doubt Ganguly was the pillar around which the Indian batting blossomed. The bowlers just did not where to bowl to him and the best fielding side was left standing by the razzle dazzle of his strokeplay. There were shots from the traditional text book and then there were shots from the Ganguly text book which is his own inimitable style. On sheer statistics, Ganguly's innings would be hard to beat - a start to finish 141 not out off 142 balls with eleven fours and six sixes. But however striking these figures are, Ganguly's best knocks have to be enjoyed on the spot. And there is little doubt that Ganguly's 14th ODI century on Friday will rank as among his best - even in his illustrious career. A run out, a catch and a wicket during the South African innings was the icing on the cake for the dynamic cricketer.