Sourav Ganguly turns 51: A complete look at career, accomplishments of legendary Indian batter

Legendary Indian batter Sourav Ganguly, considered one of the greatest batters and captains of all time in sport’s history, turned 51 on Saturday, July 8

Legendary Indian batter Sourav Ganguly, considered one of the greatest batters and captains of all time in sport's history, turned 51 on Saturday, July 8.

Ever since his international cricket debut in 1992, Ganguly's bold, ferocious personality and strokeplay earned him not only the nickname 'Dada', but also the captaincy of Team India. He was the skipper who took over an Indian team struggling match-fixing saga in the 2000s and taught them how to win no matter what conditions and backed young cricketers who would go on to become world champions collectively in future.

His off-side was among the best in the game and he mesmerized fans with his cuts and drives in that region of the ground, earning him the nickname 'God of Offside'. In the long format, Sourav played 113 matches. He scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17. He smashed 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries in 188 innings, with the best score of 239.

He is the seventh-highest run-scorer for India in Test cricket. He smashed a century on his Test debut against England at the Lord's in 1996. As a captain, he led India in 49 matches. Out of this, India won 21 matches, lost 13 and drew 15 matches. With a win percentage of 42.85, he is one of the most successful captains for India.

In 2001, the Ganguly-led side defeated Australia 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Australian team, captained by Steve Waugh, challenged India to follow on in the series, but VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid staged one of the greatest comebacks in Indian cricket history in the second Test at Kolkata. This Test series win is considered as one of India's best.

In 2004, he also oversaw an ODI and Test series in Pakistan. The Test series triumph was India's first on Pakistani soil. India also won the ODI series. Ganguly has also represented India in 311 ODIs, scoring 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02. He has scored 22 centuries and 72 half-centuries in 300 innings, with the best score of 183.

He is the ninth-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket and the third-highest run-scorer for India in ODIs. Ganguly is the fourth-fastest to 7,000 (174 innings), 8,000 (200 innings) and 9,000 ODI runs (228 innings) and third-fastest to 10,000 ODI runs (263 innings). His run in 2000 as a batter made him the player with second highest runs in ODIs in a calendar year.