The Test debut at Lord’s for Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid was a memorable one. Ganguly made his international debut for India in an ODI game against West Indies in 1992 at the age of 19. But with a lack-luster performance, he had to wait over four years to get another shot. In the 2nd Test against England in 1996 at Lord’s, Ganguly made his Test debut in place of Navjot Singh Sidhu and grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Against pace trio of Charles Lewis, Dominic Cork and Alan Mullaly, the left-hander displayed a dominant show, scoring a historic hundred on Test debut.
Ganguly was the first Indian player to register a ton on debut at Lord’s. Dravid, who was also making his debut in the same game, scored 95 runs in the match. The brilliant innings from the two batsmen saved India the blushes and put them in a good position. The match finished in a draw, but still was etched in the memories of every India cricket fan.
Former allrounder Dominic Cork, who was part of the England team in the match, recalled the encounter and praised Ganguly and Dravid for their performances.
“Both Ganguly and Dravid were seriously talented batsmen and up there with the best that have played the game. Even before the Lord’s game, I had in fact bowled to them when they were part of the India ‘A’ side and I was touring with the England ‘A’ team. Ganguly and Dravid batted wonderfully during the ‘A’ games as well,” Dominic Cork told Sportskeeda.
{{/usCountry}}“Both Ganguly and Dravid were seriously talented batsmen and up there with the best that have played the game. Even before the Lord’s game, I had in fact bowled to them when they were part of the India ‘A’ side and I was touring with the England ‘A’ team. Ganguly and Dravid batted wonderfully during the ‘A’ games as well,” Dominic Cork told Sportskeeda.
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“Both of them were superb timers of the ball. Dravid, who was later known as the ‘Wall’ was just tight and compact, in the Michael Atherton mould. Ganguly was all flourish and timing as well elegant in the middle,” the 48-year-old added.
Both Ganguly and Dravid went on to achieve huge success with the Indian team, both becoming captains in the future. Ganguly played 113 Tests in which he scored 7,212 runs and 311 ODIs in which he amassed 11,363 runs. Dravid played 164 Tests in which he scored 13,288 runs and 344 ODIs in which he scored 10,889 runs.