Former India captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has finally opened up about the incident from the 2001 Test series between India and Australia when he made Steve Waugh wait for the toss.
India-Australia cricketing rivalries have always been interesting and enthralling on for the cricket fans from both countries to watch their respective teams go head-to-head on the field.
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However, all India-Australia series have been thrilling events, but the 2001 Test series remain an iconic one especially for India and hold a very important place in the history of Indian cricket, after all, Sourav Ganguly-led side stunned everyone by beating Australia in the three-match Test series 2-1 at home.
The mighty Australian team, at that time under the captaincy of Steve Waugh, were unbeatable and dominating cricket as well as they were the firm favorites to win the three-match series in India.
Even the Kangaroos – who came to India on the back of 15 consecutive Test wins, made a stunning start by winning the first Test by 10 wickets in Mohali, but later, Team India made an unbelievable comeback and won the remaining two matches to clinch the Test series 2-1 – which was the start of a change in Indian cricket as they started playing with a more aggressive outlook under new captain Ganguly.
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Apart from India’s historic series win over Australia, the 2001 Test series is also remembered for Ganguly’s mind games and his late-appearances at the toss and even then-Aussie captain has admitted several times that he was annoyed by that.
In a recent conversation with India batsman Mayank Agarwal on the latest episode of ‘Open Nets with Mayank’, Ganguly has explained the story, saying it was only an “accident”, but it worked for the Indian team later, as Australians were left grumpy with the incident.
Ganguly told Mayank: “It was an accident actually. In the first Test match, I left my blazer in the dressing room. They were such a good side and I was really nervous in that series because it was my first big series as captain. Last 25-30 years I haven’t seen a team as good as Australia in that generation.”
He further added, “Initially, I forgot my blazer in the first Test but then I realized that he reacted to it. It was working on them, working on the team, and how they went about their jobs. They were a bit grumpy with all that and it worked for us as we won the series 2-1.”
The BCCI chief signed off by saying, “Having said that, Steve Waugh is a friend and I have tremendous respect for him as a cricketer. It was all in good humour.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)
