Why Ganguly needs big scores against Pak

Sourav Ganguly must be satisfied as well as disappointed after his knock against Pakistan at Guwahati on Monday. Happy because his 39 certainly put India in a position to dominate and eventually win. Also because Monday’s match placed him in a unique league of cricketers like Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who have played 50 matches against Pakistan. Being considered for so long against a foe as formidable as Pakistan is a rare accomplishment as not many have been able to handle the pressure.


However, the former skipper is not likely to be completely satisfied because he failed to reach a fifty against the arch-rivals, and he had nobody else but himself to blame for the unfortunate run out.


Eleven more runs and Ganguly would have broken a sorry sequence of failing to reach fifty against Pakistan. After his tremendous 141 against Pakistan in the triangular series in Australia way back in the 1999-2000 season, the southpaw has yet to reach even fifty in his last 19 outings. In fact Pakistan have not allowed him to reach the double figures eight times, and that will surely be disappointing for Ganguly.


Ganguly since his 141 against Pakistan

Three scores between 40 and 49

Three scores between 30 and 39

Three scores between 20 and 29

Two scores between 10 and 19

Eight scores between 0 and 9

Ganguly has just managed 388 runs during this period at an average of 20.4, which certainly needs some improvement against the old foes. This period has seen his career average against Pakistan plummeting from a healthy 48.6 (After that 141 knock at Adelaide) to 36.4.