Going Down the Memory Lane: When Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid Made their Test Debut

On 20 June 1996, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their Test debut against England at the home of Cricket, Lords. Thus, India got two of its most potential players on this day.

In fact, both Ganguly and Dravid showed glimpses of their skills in the very first match.

Ganguly scored an excellent 131 in the first innings while Rahul Dravid felt five runs short of the century on debut. However, they scored their runs on 22nd June 1996. Thus, both the talismanic batsman made a perfect entry in the International cricket, as they announced themselves at the big stage.

In fact, Sourav Ganguly went on to lead India with aplomb. Thus, the Prince of Kolkata is regarded as the best Indian captain after achieving great success. Rahul Dravid also held the reins of captaincy for the Indian team and achieved great heights.

Meanwhile, there was a touch of class in Ganguly’s maiden century in the international arena. He scored some delightful shots through the off side. The southpaw batsman scored a fine 131 off 301 balls to set his foot in the International set-up.

On the other hand, Rahul Dravid showed the perfect technique in his watchful 95 runs innings. Interestingly, the Wall batted at the number seventh position in his debut match. However, he not only turned out to be India’s best number three batsman, but also the best in the world.

Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid put together an alliance of 94 runs. Thus, the left and right-hand partnership of the duo helped India in taking a crucial lead of 85 runs. However, the match ended in a stalemate, as England scored 278-9 in their second innings.

Furthermore, both these batters turned out to be the best batsman for Indian cricket. Sourav Ganguly achieved great success in the ODI format, whereas, Rahul Dravid turned out to be more successful in red ball form.

Ganguly backed his debut performance with another fine performance in the following Test. He scored a fine 136 and 48 at Nottingham, Trent Bridge.