Cricket Nostalgia: When Sourav Ganguly became the first Indian to reach this World Cup milestone

Sourav Ganguly of India sweeps during the ICC Cricket World Cup Semi-Final between India and Kenya at the Kingsmead cricket ground in Durban, South Africa on March 20, 2003. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)(Getty Images)

Sourav Ganguly has been one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket. Ganguly has been credited with transforming cricket in India as he installed a fearless attitude among young cricketers. The brand of cricket played under the captaincy of Ganguly took India to massive highs as the Men in Blue reached the final of the 2003 World Cup while winning matches and series’ in Australia, South Africa, and England.

It was not just his captaincy that made Ganguly one of the greats of the game but also his stylish batting. Ganguly scored a plethora of runs for his country as he became a legend of the sport. On this day in 2003, Ganguly created a prestigious record. On March 20, 2003, Ganguly became the first Indian batsman to score a century in a knock-out match of the ICC World Cup.

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He achieved the feat against Kenya in the 2003 World Cup semi-final match at Kingsmead in Durban. In the match, India won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar put on 74 runs for the first wicket. However, Sehwag (33) got out in the 19th over, and it was then, that Ganguly came out to bat.

Ganguly and Tendulkar put on 103 runs for the second wicket. The Master Blaster was dismissed for 83, but the Prince of Kolkata went on to score 111 runs with the help of five fours and five sixes.

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India made 270/4 in the allotted fifty overs and then bowled out Kenya for 179 to progress to the finals of the tournament. In the summit-clash, India lost to Australia in Johannesburg.

Rohit Sharma is the only other Indian batsman to score a century in a World Cup knockout game. He scored a ton against Bangladesh in the quarter-final clash of the 2015 World Cup in Australia.

Ganguly called time on his career in 2008 as he played his last Test against Australia at Nagpur.

The former skipper ended his career with 7212 runs in the longest format, while in ODIs, he registered 11,363 runs.

Currently, Ganguly is the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).