Sourav Ganguly gave a fitting riposte to all his critics with his resilience at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. India may have lost the match, but in each innings, Ganguly stood firm – and top-scored - as wickets tumbled around him. In the first, he made 48 off 76 balls, in the second, 60 not out off 146. What was particularly impressive was the way he handled short-pitched bowling on a fast bouncy track. He has long been considered to be susceptible to fast short-pitched stuff, and the bowlers bowled to just that premise. Thirty-eight of the 76 deliveries he played in the first innings – exactly 50% - were short, as were 55 of 146 in the second. He thus played a combined 93 short-pitched deliveries – out of 222 – in the match, a testing 42%. Not only did he survive, he looked comfortable throughout, with immaculate shot-selection – deciding when to duck or swerve and when to pull or cut – seeing him through the Test. Not surprisingly, 59% of his runs were scored off the back foot.

Ganguly's strength has always been his driving through the off side, particularly the cover region. It has been his downfall too, as he has often been caught behind, driving away from his body. He played a far more compact game in this Test, cutting down on his staple strokes, as attested by the fact that only 19 of his 108 runs – 18% - came in the cover region. An unexpectedly gritty performance, by a captain leading from the front.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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