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Sunday, January 25, 2009

Know About Sourav Ganguly (India)


Family
Dad's Name
: Chandi Das Ganguly
Wife's Name :
Dona Ganguly


Heritage


Ganguly was born to a life of luxury and comfort as he was the son of an affluent printer. Ganguly is perhaps one of the richest Indian cricketer of recent times. Ganguly's father presides over a big joint family of over 50 people, though they all do not live in the same house. There are 22 bedrooms in his house, and the family possesses over 20 cars.

Sourav Ganguly at age 5


sourav ganguly photos

His first step towards cricket

Ganguly's first step towards cricket was a happy accident of fate: Ganguly was not encouraged to play cricket because his parents wanted him to focus on his studies. But his elder brother Snehasish was an accomplished cricketer. He was a left-hander so Sourav simply followed his brother and started playing with left hand. It was convenient for him because he could thus use his brother's cricket equipment; for his fans, it was a blessed stroke of luck, for the joys of the left-handed drive in cricket surpass almost everything else. One fine day during his holidays, Sourav asked his father to get him enrolled in a cricket academy as he was finding difficult to pass his time.

Tour Photos from England. A group photo of his first tour.
sourav ganguly photos


And this one along with Sachin and Vinod Kambli from the same tour
sourav ganguly photos

Setbacks

An under-15 Orissa cricket team happened to be in Calcutta, and Sourav happened to smash them with a century. Young
Sourav had found his métier. But the pain was yet to come. A hundred (121) for East Zone against West Zone in the Duleep Trophy in 1991 earned Sourav a place on the tour of Australia in 1991-92. He was played in only one One-day International
match and was then forgotten for over four years. He thought that his career as an international cricketer was over as he was ridiculed as a non-talent, and it was alleged that he had 'attitude problems'. They said he refused to carry drinks for his teammates, he was too high-headed and arrogant, he behaved like a Maharaja, an emperor. None of it was true, says Sourav. But the labels stuck, and Sourav was a forgotten man. He was left alone to sort out his career, and to reinforce his shattered confidence, with some help from an English rugby team sports psychologist.

Success at last !

But fate had more surprises in store. Sourav was chosen to tour England with the Indian team in 1996. Navjot SinghSidhu, his roommate on the tour, chose to walk out of the team after a misunderstanding with captain Azharuddin, while Sanjay Manjrekar was injured. Sourav thus got a chance to make his Test debut. There was a crescendo of criticism on his selection for the tour; that the Bengal lobby was at the base of his inclusion was the harsh and unanimous verdict. But all that lasted only till the second Test at Lord's where he blasted a superb century.

As a person
Sourav Ganguly is a quiet, unassuming, undemonstrative man with nerves of steel. As the current captain of the team, Ganguly's aggressive batting and big scores testify to the fact that he has learnt to deal with pressure and the burden of leading the country does not constraint him. In fact, the responsibility seems to have had an encouraging effect; he is beginning to emerge from the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar. Sourav is a deeply religious person and observes a fast every Tuesday.



His marriage

He is married to Dona, who was a next-door neighbour to the Ganguly family. Their fathers were once friends but the relationship was strained and the young couple got married under cover. It was a typical Hindi movie love story where the hero and heroine are separated by their parents and so they run off to get married. And like the movie ends their families too reconciled but only in the end i.e. after the marraige.


sourav ganguly photos
Sourav with wife Dona Ganguly. In his early schooldays, he used to write her essays.

His first love
You all will be surprised to know that 'Football' is Saurav's first love. He played for his school football team for four years. But since there were not many opportunities in football, he shifted to cricket. This shift of game was because of his father, who made him join a cricket coaching club. His father Mr. Chandi Ganguly had also played for the state.

sourav ganguly photos
If not cricket, he would probably have been a football player. A self confessed fan of the great game.


His Secret

Now we will tell you a private habit of your favourite cricketer.............The first thing Saurav does after he checks into a hotel room is to place the portrait of goddess Kali and the picture of his wife Dona on his bed side table. For this Bengal Tiger there
is nothing more relaxing than watching Dona (his wife who is a classical dancer)perform a dance routine.


sourav ganguly photos
The first families of cricket Sourav and Sachin along with children.

Achievements

Ganguly was appointed the Captain of the Indian cricket team in February, 2000.

Ganguly was the Man of the Series in the New Zealand-India 5 match ODI series in November 1999.
Ganguly made a mammoth 183 against Sri Lanka in World Cup 1999, which, at that time, was the Highest ODI Score by an Indian, beating Kapil Dev's Record of 175*.
Ganguly was the Man of the Series in the Pepsi Cup 1999 (March-April) for scoring 278 runs and taking 6 wickets in total.
Saurav Ganguly has the distinction of being one of the few players in the World to Score a century and take 4 wickets in the same match. (ODIs)
Saurav Ganguly along with Tendulkar forms the 4th Best Opening Pair in the History of One-day cricket.
Saurav Ganguly and Tendulkar were involved in a World Record Opening Partnership of 252.
Saurav Ganguly scored a Century on Debut at Lords in 1996, and went on to score a century in the very next match as well.

Saurav Ganguly was named Sport star Person of the Year 1998. He also won the Arjuna Award in 1998.
Saurav Ganguly was the Highest Run-Scorer for India in ODIs in 1997.

In the Sahara Cup 1997, Saurav Ganguly set a new World Record for 5 consecutive Man of the Match Awards. He was also the Man of the Series.


Saturday, January 24, 2009

Know About Sachin Tendulkar (India)

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born April 24, 1973) is an Indian cricketer, widely considered to be one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He currently holds the records for the most cumulative runs in One-Day Internationals, and the most number of centuries scored in both One-day Internationals and Test cricket. He made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of sixteen, becoming India's youngest Test player. Although primarily a top-order batsman, Tendulkar has often proved to be a useful and effective slow bowler. He received India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in the year 1997-1998 and the civilian award Padma Shri in 1999. His cricketing and batting abilities are widely regarded as genius by many stalwarts of the game. For instance, Sir Donald Bradman, the Australian great said of Sachin, "He reminds me of myself". He is affectionately known as The Little Master by his adoring fans.


Sachin sets new Test runs record

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar has become the world record Test runs scorer, surpassing Brian Lara's previous best mark of 11,953.
Tendulkar, 35, needed 15 runs to overtake West Indies legend Lara in the standings on the first day of the second Test against Australia in Mohali. And despite being forced to go to tea on 13 not out, the 'Little Master' came out after the interval to hit Australian debutant Peter Siddle's first ball of the session for three runs to spark wild celebrations in the ground.
The crowd gave Tendulkar a standing ovation to celebrate his achievement, while a pre-prepared fireworks display was also set off outside. The entire Australian team also stood to applaud the batsman, who received warm handshakes from each member of the opposition lineup.
Tendulkar already held the record for Test centuries with 39 in 152 Test matches for India and he is regarded as a living legend in many parts of his homeland - particularly in his native city, Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The batsman's achievement - and brilliance on the big occasion - was almost underlined with a 40th Test century, but it was not to be as he was dismissed on 88 after a catch at slip by Matthew Hayden off the bowling of Sidde.
The innings takes Tendulkar's career total to 12,041 – making him the first batsman ever to surpass 12,000 Test runs.


Sachin Tendulkar Memorabilia


Unframed and Unsigned print - 80cm x 40cm - 22 USD

As a tribute to this outstanding feat, we are proud to release a magnificent, full colour print, titled "Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 35". ". This collage style print contains the details of all of Sachin's 35 Test Centuries, various images taken during his career and also his Record Breaking innings. Unlimited in volume, this piece has been especially created to enable Sachin fans all around the World to be able to own a little piece of this historic achievement. Unsigned and unframed, this print is a very affordable piece of cricket memorabilia.
"While every Cricketer dreams of being the best in his time, this boy dreamt a little more - of being the best there ever was. Even as a little boy playing in the park, he was introspective, quiet, critical of every century he scored, every shot he played. At 16, he debuted for India, and is today the only batsman ever to have been compared with Sir Donald Bradman universally, including by Bradman himself."

Signed and Framed print


Signed and Framed print - 100cm x 50cm - 550 USD

During the 1st Test, Pakistan v India at Karachi in November 1989, a quiet 16 year-old named Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made his Test debut for his beloved India.
Then, during the 2nd Test, England v India at Manchester in 1990, Sachin showed the cricket world what he was capable of, scoring his first ever Test century, he finished 119 not out after facing 189 balls.
On December 10th 2005, during the 2nd Test, India v Sri Lanka at Delhi, Sachin Tendulkar scored an amazing 109. This Test century, being the 35th of his career, saw Sachin surpass the World Test Record of 34, previously held by Indian great Sunil Gavaskar since his retirement in 1987. Facing 196 balls, Sachin displayed his true brilliance at the crease, hitting 14 fours and 1 six, until being trapped LBW by a spectacular delivery from Muralitharan.
This outstanding achievement is destined to stand for many years to come.
As a tribute to this outstanding feat, we are proud to release a limited edition of 1000 prints, titled "Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 35". This collage style print contains the details of all of Sachin's 35 Test Centuries, various images taken during his career and also his Record Breaking innings. These prints have been elegantly framed in a quality timber and frame and Perspex glazed.
This strictly limited piece of Test Cricket history has been personally signed by Sachin and will be the only signed print released World wide to officially commemorate his World Test Record.
This product is supported by A-Tag Authentication Technology and includes an official a-Tag Certificate of Authenticity.
"While every Cricketer dreams of being the best in his time, this boy dreamt a little more - of being the best there ever was. Even as a little boy playing in the park, he was introspective, quiet, critical of every century he scored, every shot he played. At 16, he debuted for India, and is today the only batsman ever to have been compared with Sir Donald Bradman universally, including by Bradman himself."

Framed bat


Framed bat - 105cm x 60.5cm - 827 USD

As a tribute to this outstanding feat, we are proud to release a limited edition of 1000 of this special piece, titled "Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 35". This "SRT 35" cricket bat has been elegantly framed in a quality timber box frame and Perspex glazed alongside four photos of Sachin taken during his World Record innings. This quality collectable also contains the details of all of Sachin's 35 Test Centuries printed onto the mat board in gold text.
This strictly limited piece of Test Cricket history has been personally signed by Sachin and will be the only signed bat released World wide to officially commemorate his World Test Record.
This product is supported by A-Tag Authentication Technology and includes an official a-Tag Certificate of Authenticity.
"While every Cricketer dreams of being the best in his time, this boy dreamt a little more - of being the best there ever was. Even as a little boy playing in the park, he was introspective, quiet, critical of every century he scored, every shot he played. At 16, he debuted for India, and is today the only batsman ever to have been compared with Sir Donald Bradman universally, including by Bradman himself."