The “Prince of Kolkata”, Sourav Ganguly was part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first 3 seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Fondly known as ‘Dada’, Sourav Ganguly was the captain of KKR in IPL 2008 and IPL 2010 and was sacked in IPL 2009.
During that season, Brendon McCullum had donned the role of the captain of Kolkata but the franchise had a torrid season as they finished with the wooden spoon. Sourav Ganguly staged a comeback in IPL 2010 but they couldn’t qualify for the playoffs.
Even though Ganguly has traditionally been a better ODI and Test player, there were a few memorable IPL innings of his. These innings definitely took the cricket lovers during that time, back in time.
In this article, we take a look at 3 memorable innings of Sourav Ganguly in the Indian Premier League (IPL):
1. 91-run knock vs Deccan Chargers in IPL 2008
It was in the inaugural edition of this tournament that Sourav Ganguly scored his highest-ever IPL knock. The former Indian captain mustered a knock of 91 runs against Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad.
Ganguly had also taken 2 wickets in that game and deservedly bagged the Player of the Match award for his blistering knock in just 57 deliveries. Incidentally, he had also taken 2 catches in that game.
2. 88-run knock vs Deccan Chargers in IPL 2010
Sourav Ganguly loved playing against Deccan Chargers and he once again smeared the bowlers of Hyderabad, all across the park in IPL 2010 at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.
He scored 88 runs in just 54 balls and made sure that the Knights won that game against Deccan Chargers. Sourav Ganguly’s whirlwind knock powered the Kolkata Knight Riders to a humongous total of 181 runs.
3. 86-run knock vs Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2008
In the inaugural edition of the lucrative IPL, Sourav Ganguly played another impactful knock against Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings). He scored 86 runs while chasing and won the game for Kolkata in the final over.
Umar Gul had delivered the goods with the white cherry and had taken 4 wickets. He had also scored 24 runs in just 11 balls during the high-octane run-chase. Ganguly had single-handedly led the batting stocks of KKR in this game and had played a larger-than-life innings at the Mecca of Indian Cricket, Eden Gardens.
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