Gaining in fluency
Sourav Ganguly's hundred was played out in three different parts: the first phase, when he struggled, the second, when he became more assured, and the third, when he scored at a rapid pace
S Rajesh
09-Oct-2003
If Rahul Dravid's partnership with VVS Laxman bailed India out of a tricky situation, then his 182-run stand with Sourav Ganguly shut New Zealand out of the contest, and ensured that the best result they could hope for was a draw. Ganguly's innings was played out in three different parts: in the first session, he scarcely played a convincing stroke, scoring 19 from 73 balls. For much of that period, he made generous use of his pads.
| 1st session | 2nd session | 3rd session | |
| Balls | 73 | 101 | 37 |
| Runs | 19 | 56 | 25 |
| Minimum Footwork | 12 | 5 | 5 |
| Hit on pad | 13 | 13 | 2 |
The fluency started to come into his batting towards the later part of the afternoon session, when he scored 56 from 101 balls. As the table indicates, his footwork became more assured too. The 55 minutes after tea was when Ganguly was at his best, hitting 25 off 37 balls. Overall, Ganguly's not-in-control percentage was 20 - that is, once every five balls he played-and-missed, edged, or was struck on the pads. For Dravid, that figure was only 12%, a figure which suggests the mastery which he displayed for more than a day and a half.