India's best ODI XI under Sourav Ganguly

Since making their entry into top-flight international cricket four decades ago, Indian cricket has come a long way and established itself as a formidable force in the limited overs arena. Indian cricket was fortunate to have had some inspirational skippers, who led by example and contributed immensely in propelling the team to greater heights.

If Kapil Dev's all-round heroics helped India win the 1983 World Cup, Azhar made the team an impregnable force at home. With the turn of the millennium, Sourav Ganguly took over the reins of the 'Men in Blue'. Ganguly, who never minced his words and spoke his heart out, instilled a 'never say die' attitude and made them a resilient unit. He turned around the fortunes of the Indian team in overseas conditions and made them competitive against top teams in their own backyard.

'Dada' led by example with his batting exploits. His aggressive style of captaincy augured well for Indian cricket. Under Ganguly’s leadership, India became a potent ODI team and went onto win some major trophies. The highlights were making it to the finals of the 2003 World Cup and winning the 2002 Champions Trophy.

Ganguly had a star-studded team at his disposal. He had the knack of getting the best out of each of his teammates. I have taken cricketers who have consistently featured in the Indian ODI set up and put up impressive performances. I considered their ODI records while playing under Ganguly's captaincy. The records are taken from 2000 to 2005 as the period coincides with Ganguly's captaincy. So it would be interesting to pick up the best ODI playing eleven under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.

1.Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar was by far the best ODI batsman of his generation in all respects. Opening the batting, the ‘Master Blaster’ became a prolific run-getter for India. From timing to footwork, balance to hand-eye coordination, Sachin’s batting had the hallmark of a great player. His lethal opening partnership with Sourav Ganguly became the backbone of the Indian batting order.

Tendulkar had a penchant to score hundreds, and more often than not spearheaded the batting efforts for the ‘Men in Blue’. Besides his batting heroics, Sachin was a skillful bowler, who rolled his arm over and kept the batsman guessing with his bagful of variations. Leg spin, off spin and leg breaks; he had them all in his kitty.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 129

Runs - 5338

Avg - 46.01

SR - 84.54

100s - 14

50s - 27

2. Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag was India’s most destructive opener in ODI cricket. The explosive opener tormented bowling attacks with his blistering stroke play. He took on the bowlers from ball one and produced some whirlwind cameos to give India flying starts up the order.

Sehwag’s game was based on his exquisite timing and superlative hand-eye coordination. Once he got his eye in, he could win matches with his power-packed hitting. Sehwag formed successful opening combinations with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Besides his enthralling strokeplay, he was more than a handy off-spinner who could roll over his arm and scalp a few wickets.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 131

Runs - 4130

Avg - 32.84

SR - 97.88

100s - 7

50s - 19

3. Sourav Ganguly (C)

Sourav Ganguly was arguably one of India’s most elegant lefthanders in ODIs. Ganguly’s batting was pleasing to the eye. He looked a class apart with his off side splendid play. The ‘Prince of Kolkata’ had a regal touch to his batting and looked majestic while caressing the ball through the covers and tonked the spinners for huge sixes.

Ganguly's lethal opening partnership with Tendulkar provided India with the opening salvo and helped team chase down daunting targets. Ganguly was a handy medium pacer who got some swing going his way in seaming conditions. Above all, 'Dada' infused that combative instinct into the Indian team with his charismatic captaincy.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 152

Runs - 5396

Avg - 39.38

SR - 76.12

100s - 13

50s - 31

4. Rahul Dravid (WK)

Rahul Dravid was the mainstay of the Indian middle order. Dravid made the No. 3 position his own by churning out consistent performances with the bat. India’s ‘Mr Dependable’ was rock solid in the middle overs, and played the anchor’s role to perfection. An accumulator of runs, Dravid became the master at milking singles by piercing the gaps to perfection.

‘Jammy’ was one of the best exponent of cover drive and the square cut. He was an exceptional slip fielder with good reflexes and sharp anticipation ability. Dravid could keep wickets too and donned the keeping gloves often for team India. One of the fittest member of the Indian squad, Rahul donned many hats in the best interest of the team.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 163

Runs - 5252

Avg - 42.01

SR - 70.86

100s - 4

50s - 44

5. Yuvraj Singh

Yuvi was one of India’s most gifted stroke makers in ODI cricket. The elegant lefthander was blessed with sublime timing and natural ball striking ability. He created enough power in his shots with a high back lift. When on-song, he could tear apart any bowling lineup with his huge array of shots.

Yuvraj had the ability to finish off close games for India by producing some blistering cameos. The enigmatic southpaw reserved his best for the big stage. Yuvraj bowled his left arm spin with great control and accuracy. One of India’s best fielders during his prime, 'Yuvi' was a specialist at the backward point region and plucked some breath-taking catches

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 137

Runs - 3437

Avg - 32.12

SR - 85.17

100s - 5

50s - 20

6. Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif was a dependable middle-order batsman, whose calm temperament helped him soak the pressure in tight games and help India cross the finishing line. Kaif was a busy stroke maker who pierced the gaps to perfection and ran hard between the wickets.

Kaif along with Yuvraj produced some invaluable partnerships to win India some nerve-racking encounters. The supremely fit and extremely agile, Kaif, was an exceptional fielder who prowled like a tiger in the covers and point region. A great team man, Kaif earned the respect of his team-mates for his commitment towards playing the game.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 103

Runs - 2431

Avg - 35.23

SR - 73.68

100s - 2

50s - 14

7. Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan was one of India’s finest left-arm swing bowlers to play in the limited overs arena. Pathan bowled at a brisk pace and had the ability to swing the ball late. In seaming conditions, he was a nightmare for the opposition and rattled up batting lineups with his menacing swing. He became India’s strike weapon in ODIs as he pegged the opposition back with early breakthroughs.

Pathan had a considerable ability with the bat and chipped in with valuable contributions lower down the order. The allrounder’s flourishing career went down the hill as the management did not make a proper assessment of his cricketing skills.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 48

Wickets - 79

Avg - 25.93

Eco - 4.99

8. Harbhajan Singh

At the turn of the century, Harbhajan Singh was India’s best off-spinner in ODIs. ‘Bhajji’ was difficult to score off, as he bowled a tight line and hardly erred in length. He bamboozled the batsman by mixing his ‘Doosra’ with his stock off-spin delivery. The ‘Turbanator’ got a good drift in the air and purchase off the surface.

A hard-core competitor, he played the perfect foil to Anil Kumble and formed a potent spin duo for India under Ganguly's captaincy. 'Bhajji' was one of the pranksters in the dressing room and his jovial nature lifted the spirits of the Indian team.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 104

Wickets - 120

Avg - 31.93

Eco - 4.10

9. Javagal Srinath

Javagal Srinath was India's frontline seamer in ODIs. Srinath was pretty quick and had the ability to make the ball seam from the right areas on the pitch. He led the Indian seam attack and was a mentor to promising young fast bowlers like Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan and Lakshmipathy Balaji. He bowled his heart out on flat pitches of the subcontinent.

On Ganguly's insistence, Srinath came out of retirement and played in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. The Karnataka seamer proved his wicket-taking prowess and helped India reach the summit clash against Australia. Srinath was quite effective with the willow and was deployed as a pinch hitter by the Indian team.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 53

Wickets - 78

Eco.- 4.73

10. Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan was arguably India’s most skillful seam bowler in limited overs cricket. Zaheer who burst onto the ODI scene as a tear-away pacer, and eventually developed into a fine seam bowler. Along with his brisk pace, 'Zak' brought variations into his bowling to keep the batsmen guessing. He had all the tricks in the trade and became a master at using the seam. Zaheer was quite handy with the bat too and could hit a few lusty blows to end the innings with a flourish.

ODI RECORD 2000-2005

Matches - 99

Wickets - 141

Avg - 28.26

Eco - 4.86

11. Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble was the greatest leg-spinner to have ever played for India. Kumble was Ganguly's trump card with the ball in spin-friendly conditions. The Karnataka leggie wasn’t a classical leg-spinner but relied more on his subtle variations to outfox the batsmen.

Kumble was quick through the air and troubled the batsman with his flippers and topspin deliveries. He had a deceptive googly which he mixed up well with his stock leg spin. He was a great student of the game and his analytical mind was well used by Indian team management to craft their game strategies.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 78

Wickets - 82

Avg - 38.40

Eco - 4.58

12th Man - Ajit Agarkar

Agarkar was one of the best strike bowlers in ODI cricket. The lanky Mumbai seamer bowled deceptively quick and had the knack of picking up wickets in a heap. He made early inroads with his fiery spells and put the opposition on the back foot. Although his economy wasn’t the best, he made up by consistently chipping in with wickets.

Agarkar was also handy with the bat down the order. He was perhaps India’s best fielder in the outfield and had a rocket-like throw from the deep.

ODI Record 2000-2005

Matches - 109

Wickets - 159

Avg - 27.65

Eco - 5.03

Honorable mentions

Ashish Nehra - He generated good pace and could seam the ball both ways. He had a good late inswinger and bowled a good yorker at the death. Unfortunately, injuries troubled him all through his career and he could never settle down on the Indian side.

VVS Laxman - A stylish stroke-maker and a very capable middle-order batsman. But, did not get a consistent run in ODIs as he was considered more of a Test specialist.

Bench Strength - Lakshmipathy Balaji, Hemang Badani, Murali Karthik, Dinesh Mongia and Parthiv Patel. All made handy contributions whenever they got a chance to represent India.