Ganguly's moment of reckoning

Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and John Wright discuss strategy before the Kochi one-dayer. Ganguly's future in the team could depend on this series © AFP

It's a measure of how much Sourav Ganguly has grown as an individual in the five years that he has led this Indian side that he can still answer pointed questions and barely veiled barbs with a smile on his face. If you go by the Hemingway adage of courage being grace under pressure, then Ganguly is one of the bravest souls in this part of the world right now.

The Test series may have ended 1-1, but the result was satisfying for one team alone. As John Wright has admitted, India will look back to the final days at Mohali and Bangalore, and ponder how close they came to emulating their series victory in Pakistan a year ago.

Under normal circumstances, a one-day series - and most people are coming round to the view that ODIs outside of the World Cup are intrinsically worthless, with only a haphazard ICC table in place instead of an annual trophy - wouldn't have meant much after the main event. But given the speculation over Ganguly's future, these six matches assume genuine significance.

It doesn't help that India's one-day record has been pathetic beyond belief since finishing runners-up to Australia in the 2003 World Cup. Since that much-celebrated 3-2 series win in Pakistan last year, India have managed just a solitary victory against top-notch opposition - a nail-biting four-run win against Sri Lanka at the Asia Cup last July. All four subsequent matches against Pakistan have ended in defeat, with Salman Butt's glorious unbeaten century spearheading the most recent demolition job, in the BCCI's Platinum Jubilee match.

Pakistan's improved one-day form under Bob Woolmer has had much to do with the judicious use of allrounders. Unlike most bits-and-pieces cricketers, the likes of Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi are capable of winning matches with both bat and ball. India have no one of comparable ability, though both Irfan Pathan and MS Dhoni will be expected to double up with the bat after performing their primary duties.

Pakistan are also a much better fielding side than they once were, while India have retrogressed alarming from that World Cup high. And while the hosts might possess the more powerful top order on paper, Pakistan have more individuals capable of a blistering 20-ball cameo that can break open the tightest game.

Inzamam's team acquitted themselves with credit during the VB Series in Australia two months ago, and have a fabulous record on Indian soil, dating back to the white-clothed days of the 1980s when Salim Malik biffed one of the all-time great innings (72 from 35 balls) at the Eden Gardens.

Ganguly was a teen still two years away from his Bengal debut at the time, but as he gears up for this latest instalment of cricket's most frenzied rivalry, he will know that the sand is trickling fast through to the bottom of his timer. With 9,964 runs to his name, Ganguly's place in the one-day pantheon is secure, and beyond dispute. But if his legacy as captain is not to be tarnished by the indifferent performances of the past 12 months, it's imperative that the team salvages some pride over the next three weeks.

Pakistan will rightly start favourites, and ignominious defeat could well spell the end of the Ganguly era in Indian cricket. The last time he was in such a precarious position, Ganguly went to the Coliseum that is the Gabba and flayed Australia's pride of lions to the tune of 144 runs in a Test match. It was spellbinding to watch, and something tells you that similar fortitude will be needed here if he's not to exit the stage with a whimper rather than the roar that his contributions to Indian cricket deserve.