Ganguly has the crowd going gaga

The Indian crowd roared in delight at the fall of an Asian. Sanath Jayasuriya, the big-hitting Sri Lankan, had just fallen and he might have been a trifle surprised at the crowd reaction. But he would have understood had he looked at the helmeted figure striding past him towards the middle. The chants of Dada, Dada ringed the arena as Sourav Ganguly walked out.

It could have been Kolkata. Never mind that this was the hometown of the man who replaced him as captain. You might hate him, love him and hate him again but he, unlike most if not all his colleagues, stirs up emotions that you didn't think you were capable of. You cannot maintain a monk-like equanimity with him. After all, he is one of the most fascinating Indian players ever.

The pitch offered good bounce and had live grass - a commodity enjoyed only by bovines and vegetarians in this country and seldom seen on cricket grounds. A couple of scribes in the press box were licking their lips, itching for the tamasha to begin.

Morne Morkel had the ball and his approach was predictable. Bounce Ganguly out. Embarrass the emperor. The first ball flew at the rib cage. Ganguly shuffled across uneasily, took the bottom-hand off the handle, stabbed at the ball which kissed his gloves on the way to the fine-leg boundary. Morkel sighed. So did the crowd but in relief.

Morkel pitched the next one full, around the off stump. Perhaps Ganguly would be hanging on the back foot, expecting a short ball, and would be a trifle late while driving. Maybe an edge? No luck. Ganguly, who these days stands slightly more erect, kept his head still and the bat in the air, leaning forward fully to caress it through the cover region. The DJ picked up the public vibes and promptly played Main hoon Don, a popular number. The camera panned to Ganguly. The don was smiling.

But Morkel, in the middle of a good spell where he extracted considerable lift, hit the deck short of length the next delivery and made it kick up just outside off. Ganguly tried to push it to backward point and saw it racing away to the third-man boundary. Three balls, one good shot, and he had 12 on the board. The crowd weren't complaining.

Albie Morkel replaced his younger brother. Pardon me for digressing into vernacular but if this was the Hindi movie Sholay, the dialogue would have gone thus: "Dono Bhai Aaye ho! Kya socha tha? Dada khush hoga, shabaashi dega, kyun?!" Ganguly had a charge and a miss. Moments later, he carved one past point. A few balls later, Albie hurled a bouncer but Ganguly shuffled inside the line and hooked it away for yet another four.

In between, he played an imperious cut and a delectable straight-drive off Elton Chigumbura. The crowd had forgotten about the harsh sun; paper-fans were being ignored and people began to clap again. Then, against the run of play, Ganguly dragged one on to the stumps. The younger brother, Morne, had exacted retribution for the family. Partisan silence around the arena. The DJ too turned dumb. Suddenly, the sun became unbearable.