New Delhi: After an anticipating Border-Gavaskar series which ended early this week, there has been much speculation among former greats as to who has been best and what has been commendable. And among them former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has come forth to reveal that Australian captain Steve Smith has actually proven him wrong in the recently concluded series.
In his exclusive column for ICC, Ganguly wrote, "“Not because India didn’t play well but because Australia’s captain Steve Smith decided to make the transition from a good batsman to a great batsman during this series."
Remembering the Aussie's wizardry with the bat on the rank-turner Pune pitch, the former Indian batsman wrote," The century he scored in Pune ranks amongst one of the best by a visiting batsman in India — and I have seen many."
Ganguly was among many who had predicted a complete Aussie whitewash, but the first encounter at Pune bowled their prediction out. In a pitch where the Indians were struggling both with ball and bat, the skipper had notched up a brilliant century to script an applaudable 333-run victory over the home team that was brewing with confidence post their successfull home series stretch prior to it.
The Prince of Calcutta added, "Maybe playing on that pitch in Pune was a mistake as it allowed even an ordinary spinner like Steve O’Keefe that much bite."
Dada had infact thought that England would be the opponent which would give a rather tough fight to the Indians, but it was a complete opposite. He felt that they were probably the weakest opponent. "That series was played on good pitches and remember how England won most of the tosses and yet couldn’t capitalise on starts," he wrote, "Its bowling was hardly international class in these conditions and the two spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, bowled two-three ‘hit-me’ balls every over to the likes of Virat and others! England never stood a chance if its bowlers were going to concede so many runs, and at such a brisk pace." However, his words did come true for both Kiwi- whitewash and the one-off Test against Bangaldesh.
"Bangladesh too realistically never stood a chance and it was during that Test that I predicted a 4-0 brownwash for India against Australia. And I was proven wrong."
The 44-year-old was also left stunned by the way Virat Kohli picked up his side from the Galle heartbreak back in 2015, to the No. 1 Test team and reataining the position through the successful home season. "Like any good leader, Virat sensed the problem, spoke to his team and what has followed since has reinforced my belief in him and his team," he wrote, "And having watched the last 13 home Tests, I hope Virat and his team really has the potential to win anywhere - in or outside India."
