DADAgiri never ends....

"All good things come to an end...."

Maybe it was poetic justice. All thought Sourav Ganguly's final Test innings had passed. All were disappointed that he didn't get a hundred as he poked tamely to Michael Clarke at slip. It looked the game will end in a draw. Maybe it was okay. Obituaries had already been written. It was a sad end indeed. A century would have been a fairytale ending. Even the BCCI had felicitated him.

But two days later he was back. This was his moment, to set right the error committed in the first innings. But there was a rider: the first innings was emotional, in the second India were in trouble. There was no time to look around to find familiar faces in the crowd. A series win was on the cards.

He ran out at the fall of VVS Laxman's wicket. The rousing reception was befitting of the figure, thin attendance notwithstanding. Even the Australians lined up to applaud. Ganguly acknowledged and walked up to Sachin Tendulkar for a brief chat, then walked back to take guard. It was the same bowler who cut his fairytale short in the first innings. Jason Krejza was on debut. He turned his bat too early. Krejza completed the catch. Ganguly was out for nought, first ball.

It reminds you of the Aussie cricket great Don, Sir Donald Bradman. He was out for a duck in his last innings. Those who saw him say he was teary-eyed. He needed only four runs from his last knock to bow out with a batting average of 100. It would have been perfect, an ode to his prowess that was on display on either side of World War II. Yet, he finished on 99.94. Some say this is the very reason the Don lives on for generations. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was human. Even he wasn't perfect. The comparison ends here.

Over the years, Ganguly was increasingly revered for his captaincy. His batting, although not forgotten, had been eclipsed. His aggressive batting was not as talked about as his firebrand personality. He made a triumphant return to the side two years ago. He scored all the runs. But even his colleagues paid tributes to him as the leader who changed things for them.

Even his one-day career ended without prior notice. Someone with more than 11000 runs was done away with at the start of the year. It was not a fitting end. But he wanted to go out of Test cricket by himself. By his own admission, he might have never returned if a new selection regime had not taken over.

Ganguly was never perfect. He was all too human. His triumphs are entangled with failure. His rise has been riddled with ridicule. His setbacks were trumped by his comebacks. There was conflict in every aspect of his cricketing career. He scored a hundred on debut. There was no way he could end with a century. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was no Bradman. He could never have been Bradman. He was Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, our very own Dada....

A great captain he was, not seen of his likes anytime anywhere in India.... He was the one.... the chosen one !!!

He could have played more.... But lets stay away from controversies, he made his own decision.... the final decision.... and a decision which was complemented by an emphatic 2-0 series win....

India & Cricket will miss you DADA !!! and nobody can ever forget that scene from the NatWest final at Lords.... Indian captain fluttering his jersey in the air.... Its only YOU who can do it....

Dada might have said adios to international cricket.... but DADAgiri never ends....!!!