Sourav’s fans celebrate near his home in Behala after the century. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Sourav supporters hope for man-of-the-series

Calcutta, Oct. 18: The moment Sunil Haldar had been praying for since morning came in the third over after lunch.

Batting on 96 in Mohali, on the second day of the India-Australia Test, Sourav Ganguly flicked Cameron White to the mid-wicket boundary.

“I was ecstatic that Maharaj had scored a century but I was happier that he had shown the board with his bat that he still has the magic,” said Haldar, 40, who had taken the day off from his central government job.

As soon as Sourav began pumping his fists, judging the ball had beaten the fielders and would cross the ropes, Abhijit Mukherjee was out on the streets in Kalighat, gathering fellow fans for an impromptu party.

The members of the Sourav Ganguly Fans’ Association did a puja with garlands around pictures of their hero, gobbled rasogollas, smeared colour on one another and danced to a dhol.

“He has silenced his critics more effectively today with his bat than he could have done verbally. He has put the people who showed a lack of faith in him back in their places,” Mukherjee said.

Himel Mitra, 24, a resident of Behala Chowrasta near Sourav’s home, skipped office and his multimedia classes to watch the Dada of his para play.

“I almost had a heart attack, I was so tense. Dhoni was playing brilliantly but I couldn’t care less. All I was praying for was that Sourav should keep his cool and not lose his wicket before his century,” said Mitra, gathering firecrackers for celebrations tonight.

But some fans always want a little more, like housewife Samita Singha.

“If only he had stayed on to score a double century it would have hit the board even harder,” she said, clutching a garlanded poster of the former India captain.

This is Sourav’s last series before retirement. As soon as he had made the announcement earlier this month, rumours had begun swirling that the board had arm-twisted him into the decision.

After today’s performance, many fans in his hometown may feel that Sourav should have stayed on.

“If he has to go, he should go with all guns blazing,” said Ratan Haldar, a Behala businessman.

“I hope he gets the Man-of-the-Series award. He began his career with a bang (in England in 1996); he will end it with a bang too.”