KOLKATA: It was on June 20, 1996 that Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, two of India's best batsmen, made their Test debuts against England at the Home of Cricket -- the Lord's Cricket Ground in London.
While Ganguly went on to score a 100, Dravid was not so lucky and got out just 5 runs short of the landmark.
"He (Ganguly) batted at 3, I came in at 7 in that game. So I had a long time to watch him bat and bat very well actually. I did feel really nice for him that he got that hundred," said Dravid in a video posted by the ICC on their Twitter handle.
"And from my side, it was like I also have a chance to make it count. So, when he got out I used it a little bit as a motivation and an inspiration," he added.
Ganguly played a superb knock of 131 for which he consumed 301 deliveries. The stylish knock was studded with 20 boundaries. Dravid, meanwhile, faced 267 deliveries during his knock which consisted of 6 boundaries.
"I was too engrossed in my performance to be honest. When he (Dravid) came into bat, I was already at 70 odd," recalled Ganguly.
"I remember my 100 scoring shot which was a cover drive through point and he was at the non-striker's end. I finished the day at 131, I got out an hour after tea and he carried on," he added.
"He came back the next morning and got 95. I was standing at the Lord's balcony hoping that he would get a hundred.
"I have seen him play at the under 15s, then Ranji Trophy together. I had seen his debut at Eden Gardens and then seeing his debut at Lord's. So, I watched his career closely. It would have been great had we both got hundreds that day," added the current BCCI chief. IANS
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