Arrogance, where are you?

By John Cheeran
Team India was the clear loser as Sourav Ganguly licked his wounds at the Feroze Shah Kotla on Saturday. Ganguly has succeeded in his immediate agenda; an unbeaten but laborious innings of 39 from 114 balls on a benign pitch would now be bandied about as the proof of his glory.
Sourav Ganguly must be the luckiest batsman on a comeback trial.
First, skipper Rahul Dravid gave him another chance to resuscitate his career after the left-hander’s miserable innings of 5 in the first Test at Chennai.
Second, Dravid did not push him up the order to open the innings, where, I’m sure the Maharaj would have perished in no time.
Third, the sleepy nature of the wicket and lack of quality fast bowling among Sri Lankan bowlers. It helped Ganguly’s cause that Dravid won the crucial toss and decided to bat first.
If India were replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings on this track that should assist spinners – Muralitharan in this instance – progressively, Ganguly would not have enjoyed the time factor that let him crawl into safety.
Ganguly would have been under tremendous pressure to find runs, if not quickly, on a decent rate, which he has failed to do in the crucial phase of his innings.
The luxury of a first innings has allowed Ganguly to tell the world how uncomfortable he is even against an attack of modest fire power.
Ganguly is on a learning curve.
He has been de-fanged and put on trial to prove his credentials to be part of the Team India, much the same way the United States has put the Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussain on the road to justice.
Saddam does not really have a second chance out there. Sourav has been thrown a lifeline by Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara in the first innings of the New Delhi Test. Sangakkara bungled in stumping when the batsman stepped out against Muttaih Muralitharan.
Ganguly did not have any clue then, neither did he have later, where the ball was pitching when Muralitharan came on to bowl.
Ganguly’s reputation that he is a good player of quality spin was also wilted in the twilight sun. Being a left-hander Ganguly, if he were in form, could have easily neutralized the advantage an off-spinner normally enjoys. Leave alone dominating Muralitharan, he barely survived against him.
It was just not Muralitharan who tormented him. Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda Vaas too enjoyed probing his weakness against fast bowling.
It only goes to show that how fortunate this fellow has been with the willow in recent times.
Is there anyone out there to tell that Ganguly deserves a place in this side, and in the process keeping proven youngsters like Mohammad Kaif out – on the basis of his display at Kotla on Saturday?
I don’t think anyone, except for those who are tied up by their regional boundaries.
Gone is the swagger, gone is the arrogance.
Yesterday I could see in Ganguly’s eyes the fear of a lamb facing the butcher’s knife.