Sourav tosses his shirt towards a throng of fans after the Nagpur Test on Monday. Telegraph picture

Nagpur, Nov. 10: Had the occasion been different, the day would’ve belonged entirely to Team India and not any individual. It actually turned out to be Sourav Ganguly’s day, though, his last in the India colours.

Clearly, the mind-blowing 172 runs win over Australia, which gave India the series 2-0 and the No.2 position in the ICC Test rankings, got eclipsed by the absolute frenzy over Sourav.

Sourav was cheered throughout and there were new banners at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha. From ‘Sourav tussi na jao’ to ‘Why are you quitting so soon? Your fans are upset’.... The touching ‘Dada can never retire from our hearts’ was there as well.... Honestly, it couldn’t have been much more overwhelming at the Eden.

Then, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni asked Sourav to lead at the fall of the ninth wicket, there was a roar which could’ve been heard in Behala.

Sourav twirls his shirt at Lord’s in 2002. (PTI)

BARE-DEVIL

If Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy was known for naked aggression, its trademark moment came on July 13, 2002. Sourav took off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and twirled it, baring his chest and shouting four-letter words, after India’s thrilling win over England in the NatWest Series final. Many people frowned on the “un-gentlemanly conduct” in cricket’s most hallowed surroundings, but it was apparently a tit-for-tat for Andrew Flintoff ’s similar act after England beat India in an ODI in Mumbai months earlier. Kapil Dev termed it a turning point in Indian cricket history, showing the team was at last ready to give as good as it got. “For people of an older generation like me, it was a tremendous occasion. It marked the beginning of a new India. It was just unbelievable and fantastic,” he said.

That, of course, was gesture No. 2 from Dhoni. The first had been in the morning, when he made Sourav lead the team on to the park after the equivalent of a guard of honour.

Guns didn’t boom, but had a salute been given, it would’ve comprised 21 guns.

“It was touching.... That gesture did make me emo- tional,” Sourav told The Telegraph after his last media conference as an India cricketer.

Forget being mobbed on flights and at team hotels, he had to struggle to get past the media.

Sourav led for just three overs (two short of his assignment) before handing the captaincy back to Dhoni. “I’d already switched off.... He woke me up and I didn’t know what was happening. Luckily, it was already nine down.... I did it for three overs and then said to him it’s his job....”

There was a gesture from Sourav too: he did a Lord’s by taking off his shirt. Only, unlike what happened after the 2002 NatWest final, he threw the shirt down from the dressing room for fans who’d been screaming for a souvenir.

Breaching security, hundreds had managed to come almost within hand-shaking distance of Sourav and the rest of the team. They weren’t, however, much interested in the others.

If they could, they wouldn’t have let Sourav go.

The affection shown over the five days moved Sourav. “The people (who cheered) didn’t have an agenda.... I’ll cherish this for life.”

Sourav had nice words for Dhoni, who has begun his innings as Team India’s full-fledged captain with such a gem of a win.

“Dhoni’s got the spark on the field and, like me, isn’t much of a drawing-board captain.... He also has the luck which captains need,” Sourav pointed out.

With the ride on MoS Ishant Sharma’s Toyota becoming a substitute for a lap of honour, there was none for Sourav, though he’d been chaired off by the Harbhajan Singhs.

Getting back to Dhoni’s gestures, they didn’t stop at Sourav. He invited Anil Kumble, the captain at the start of the series, to accompany him at the presentation ceremony.

The former captain declined and, so, Dhoni collected the sponsor’s trophy alone. He invited Kumble again, this time to join him in receiving the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar waiting, Kumble couldn’t say no.

Kumble captained in two Tests (first and third, after which he quit), but the wins came under Dhoni, who promises to be a Dada with a difference.