September 18, 1997: When Sourav Ganguly slayed Pakistan, with the ball

Sourav Ganguly nabbed five wickets as the fourth seamer and Pakistan collapsed from 87/2 at one stage to 148 all out, losing the match by 34 runs.

Sourav Ganguly always had a knack of shining on the big occasion and when it comes to international cricket there is not much that trumps India vs Pakistan.

India's Sourav Ganguly reacts to bowling out Abdul Razzak of Pakistan at the Sahara Cup Cricket tournament in Toronto. (AFP/Getty Images)

Having lost the first two matches of the five-match series, Pakistan faced a must-win against India in the third ODI at Toronto.

Batting first India were restricted to 182/6 in their 50 overs, Mohammad Azharuddin was the top scorer with a fighting 67 on a pitch that offered considerable assistance to the fast bowlers.

Having restricted India to a modest score Pakistan must have fancied their chances to get a foothold in the series, especially against an inexperienced India bowling attack. Pakistan also got off to a good start with Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi adding 52 runs for the first wicket.

Sourav Ganguly though had different plans, having scored just two while opening the batting, the ‘Prince of Calcutta’ nabbed five wickets as the fourth seamer and Pakistan collapsed from 87/2 at one stage to 148 all out, losing the match by 34 runs. As a result, India took an unassailable 3-0 lead and went on to win the series 4-1.

For his performance Ganguly was given the man of the match award.