Indian fans will always remember June 20 as it produced three gems who left a huge mark in cricket history. Former captain Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly started the journey of Test cricket on this day in 1996. Virat Kohli On this day in 2011, entered red-ball cricket.
These three will forever be etched in the memory of Indian fans as they scored a combined 28979 runs in Test cricket alone while Kohli was still playing. All three batsmen played in over 100 Tests and captained national teams across all formats. So let’s take a look at the Test debut of these three on the occasion of this auspicious day for Indian cricket.
Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, both made their Test debuts at the age of 23 during the second Test match at Lord’s, the iconic cricket stadium in London. Amazingly, with Ganguly batting at the No. 3 position, while Dravid moved to bat at No. 7, the positions were reversed in the future. Ganguly made an immediate impact on his debut with 131 off 301 balls and Dravid with 95 off 267 balls.
Ganguly and Dravid continued their rapid rise with another impressive performance in the next Test at Nottingham. Ganguly again scored a century and also took six wickets to showcase his all-round skills. Dravid produced another classic innings, hitting a crucial half-century to cement his place in India’s Test team.
Dravid’s influence in Test cricket remains unparalleled with 13288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of 52.31. He registered 36 centuries and 63 fifties and, with 210 catches, holds the world record for most catches in Test cricket. Ganguly scored 7212 runs in 113 Tests at an average of 42.17 with 16 centuries. Ganguly’s main contributions came in white-ball cricket with over 11000 runs and his leadership qualities.
Meanwhile, the modern-day legend Kohli made his ODI debut in 2008 and earned his first Test cap in June 2011 during India’s tour of the West Indies. M S DhoniThe captaincy of Unlike Dravid and Ganguly, Kohli was unable to make an immediate impact on his Test debut as he scored only four runs in the first innings of the First Test at Kingston and 15 in the second innings. It was not a start to remember for Kohli as he struggled to make any impact throughout that series.
But the right-handed batsman quickly adapted to red-ball cricket and has so far dominated the format, scoring 8479 runs in 109 Tests at an average of 48.72. The former all-format captain has scored 28 Test centuries and a total of 75 international centuries to go down in the history books as a cricket legend.