Pause, rewind, play: Ganguly’s masterclass on batting, which showed there was a method to his legend

For many, Sourav Ganguly’s greatest contribution to Indian cricket is his captaincy. Under his leadership, the country saw several players – including Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh – turn into greats of the game. Ganguly’s never-say-die attitude also instilled a great amount of self-belief in his players and helped the side win crucial matches overseas.

While his ingenuity as a captain will always be remembered, the fact remains that Ganguly is also one of the greatest batsmen India has ever produced. The left-hander played 113 Test matches and 311 One-Day Internationals, scoring 7,212 and 11,363 runs respectively in the two formats.

In ODIs, especially, Ganguly’s legacy is immense. As an opener for India, he was one of the best against the new ball during his time.

There were two things that stood out about Ganguly’s batting – his ability to find the gaps on the offside against pacers and the manner in which he hit spinners for massive sixes.

For Indian fans, watching Ganguly play shots through the off side was one of cricket’s greatest joys. The stylish left-hander could make the ball meet the middle of his bat no matter what the length was or how far the line was – it just had to be on his offside.

And against spinners, the brilliance with which he sent the ball miles was always fascinating. It wasn’t about brute power. His attack against spinners was all about timing and having a sound technique.

“If I had to sum up Sourav’s batting, I would say that it is a unique mix of touch and power,” VVS Laxman had written for ESPNcricinfo in 2008.

“When he plays those drives on the off for instance, it’s all touch, all elegance. Timing is his gift. I think that is something one is born with. If at all there is a secret to timing, it is to play the ball early, and Sourav does that. On the other hand, he has the ability to not only clear the ropes but even the stadium. Right from the start, he has had the ability to hit long. Against spin, my god, he is really a murderer!”

Another great left-hander, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, in his column for ESPNcricinfo in 2008, reflected on how Ganguly’s balance at the crease allowed him to play his elegant strokes.

“Sourav the batsman was an attacker, blessed with time and quick hands, a destructive square-cut and the most elegant of cover-drives,” wrote Sangakkara. “All these attributes I saw when I watched him on TV at Lord’s during his debut, completely at ease in the big time, scoring a remarkably mature hundred.

“Sourav’s batting was all about balance. He had a good stride forward or back, a strong and stable base, a heavy bat to add further to the weight transfer into the shot, and a still head. This enabled him to be dominant on either side of the wicket and to punish any bowler who offered him width.”

The Sourav Ganguly interview: ‘Cricket is a captain’s game, the coach has to take a step behind’

In an interview with Star Sports a few years after he retired from international cricket in 2008, Ganguly gave a must-watch masterclass on batting. He spoke in great detail about how he developed his off side game and the secret to hitting big against spinners.

“The off-stump is an area where a lot of balls are delivered, because that’s what bowlers are taught to do. That’s a wicket-taking line,” said Ganguly. “So, as you keep facing that line over and over again, you, as a batsman, develop new ways to score runs off it.

“I used to try and play the cover-drive as few times as possible on quick and bouncy pitches. Because on such pitches, the bowler is trying to push you back. The cover-drive becomes a risky shot in such situations.”

Here are excerpts from that interaction:

A batsman’s foot movement...

“Of course, a batsman’s foot movement is different for fast bowlers and spinners. It even differs depending on where you’re playing, what kind of a pitch is being used. While playing your shots, a lot depends on where your bat meets the ball. One can hit the same delivery to different parts of the field, so it comes down to how early or late you connect with the ball. And that is possible only if you read the length early.”

Hitting spinners...

“While stepping down the track against spinners, you have to be careful if the pitch has a lot of turn in it. If you don’t reach the pitch of the ball, you have to defend it with your bat or pad. Having said that, on turning tracks, you can’t always think of defending after stepping out. You still have to look to attack, because eventually one ball will have your name on it and go past you.

“But on pitches that have true bounce and don’t turn much, it’s good to step out and give a hard swing. You can hit through the line and on the up even if you don’t reach the pitch of the ball. The ball travels even further when you connect on pitches with true bounce.

“If you want to step out against spinners, you have to wait till as late as possible. Only make your move when the bowler is just about to release the ball. And then your foot movement has to be really quick. Try to stay as low as possible and get close to the pitch of the ball before swinging the bat.”

Innovating at the crease...

“You have to prepare your game for every kind of condition and bowler. You can’t base your game to specifically deal with one bowler.

“One must even try to adjust their position on the batting crease. A bowler is always trying to find the right length to bowl to. If you keep standing at the same spot, the bowler finds his rhythm and can hit good spots consistently. But if you move forward and backward on the crease from time to time, the bowler is forced to get out of his comfort zone and adjust. There’s a small margin between a good delivery and a bad one. A yorker can become a half volley if the bowler misses the mark by a few inches. So, as a batsman, you should try and make things hard for the bowler by shifting your base at the crease every now and then.”

Watch Ganguly’s masterclass on batting here: