“It was an arresting sight” - Sadagopan Ramesh reminisces Ganguly-Dravid 318-run partnership in 1999 WC
Former Indian opener Sadagopan Ramesh has reminisced the Ganguly-Dravid rampage in Taunton 20 years ago, during the 1999 World Cup, and called it an arresting sight. Ramesh, who opened for India in that game, also added that the game saw the emergence of Rahul Dravid as a proper ODI batsman.
The Taunton 1999 remained as one of Indian cricket’s hinge points for more reasons than one. Coming into the tournament with a lot of things going in the background and the perennial struggle of Indian pace unit, spare Javagal Srinath, it would’ve been easy for India to dismiss the tournament where they were just an also-ran, no matter the presence of arguably the greatest 1990s phenomenon, Sachin Tendulkar. While the eventual result was not surprising - India failed to qualify for the semi-finals - the game against Sri Lanka at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton left a lasting impression. No one had imagined what was going to be transpired.
Arjuna Ranatunga decided to bowl first and that decision seemed the most logical one at that moment as Chaminda Vaas cut the ball back sharply to hit Ramesh's off stump. Ramesh was opening for India after Tendulkar had to return back to India to attend his father’s funeral and even though he returned for the Sri Lanka game, India still had Ramesh at the top with Ganguly. In walked Rahul Dravid, at No.3 and the battle started to destroy perception, building a reputation and most importantly, showing the world that there was more to Indian ODI team than just Tendulkar.
“You are talking about the best players at the time. Sourav had always been a good one-day cricketer and he had played some amazing innings in one-dayers. Rahul Dravid was another classic player but the Taunton game was a big step for somebody like Rahul. He had a reputation of a Test player but he showed the entire world what he was actually capable of,” Ramesh told SportsCafe in an exclusive interview.
Dravid was determined, Ganguly was calm, and for a change, the duo swapped roles in the first half of their partnership. Once they took over, even Muttiah Muralitharan, of all people, failed to stem the run flow. Dravid reached his second successive hundred at almost a run a ball while Ganguly made his own century from 119 deliveries.
Although Dravid was dismissed in an unfortunate manner for 145, thus bringing an end to the 318-run stand, Ganguly continued his onslaught and eventually slammed 183 runs in just 158 deliveries. Ramesh stated that the innings changed India’s perception about Dravid and was the first big step towards being a legendary ODI cricketer.
“That innings made him a dangerous one-day player also because if you look at the stats, he has scored about 10,000 runs in ODIs which is not easy to achieve by anybody. So, two of the great batsmen were playing and hammering the players all, it was a great sight to watch. We all were hooked in the dressing room and enjoying the magic of Sourav and Rahul. I can never forget that onslaught in my life,” Ramesh passionately explained.
Just a week before the match, India were dealt with a big blow as Tendulkar had to fly back home after his father’s sudden death. He was in complete shock and that left India’s World Cup campaign in a terrible place. Ramesh had to be elevated to open the innings for the match against Zimbabwe but remembering the situation, the Tamil Nadu opener said it was a very difficult atmosphere when the tragedy struck Tendulkar.
“Losing your closest, especially when it happens to one of your teammate’s father. When everyone comes to know, the team lost the morale. When the team lost the biggest player or the biggest batsman in the world, it can shake you up at times. We didn’t know if he would come back for the World Cup but he did because of his love for the nation. We were all with him at the point of time.”
Having Sachin back, of course, helped India change the narrative as Sri Lanka lost their way as early as the fifth over, as the explosive opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana were dismissed. A brief fightback by Aravinda de Silva and Arjun Ranatunga was to no avail, were dismissed for 216, handing India a huge 157-run victory.
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