Is Ganguly a good captain?

Just had a heated discussion with a friend of mine as to whether Ganguly is a good or bad captain.After today's debacle the performance of the captain will definitely come under much scrutiny.His performance with the bat in recent times has been woeful to say the least.
In the recently concluded test series the two captains were a stark contrast to each other in terms of batting performance. Inzy lead from the front decimating the bowling with clinical precision. On the other hand our "Prince of Calcutta" always struggled to reach double figures. It was a pathetic sight watching a baffled Ganguly trying to somehow open his account. Even a few years back he was considered one of the best bestman who could go after the spinners with gay abandon.
Has the time come for a change at the helm of Indian cricket?
However that is not the topic of today's post.
Is Ganguly a good captain?
See his record as a captain. He is India's most successful captain ever. No other captain even the great Pataudi can boast of such records.Winning a test series in pakistan is no mean achievement.Not losing a series in Australia was unheard of in Indian Cricket.
" A captain should lead from the front", is a cliche often heard.
Many like my friend argue that Ganguly has got a very good team which boasts of
India's best batting line up ever. With such a good team at his disposal he is bound to win matches. However ppl do forget the fact that it was he who transformed the team from a bunch of high profile individual performers to a cohesive unit. Earlier there were many factions within the dressing room. kapil dev faction, the gavaskar faction were very well known during their hey days. However thankfully now we do not have such factions anymore. During Azhar's time barring some individual brilliant performance from tendulkar the team never showed any
fighting spirit. The killer instinct or that zing in the steps to finish off the opponent was simply not there.
However many a time under ganguly's captaincy we have seen India make a fight out of nowhere. For example, the memorable Natwest trophy.India was down and almost out.
But out of nowhere Kaif and Yuvarj fought back and we won. So ppl will ask how is Ganguly linked with this. I believe that he along with Wright and Dravid has been responsible in imbibing the fighting spirit to the new young guns like Sehwag,Yuvraj etc.
Don't get me wrong. After seeing today's match it seems that the team is back to Azhar's days, where, just by seeing the large total to be chased the team used to give up. Some say that being a Bong(bengali) and that too from Kolkata I have a soft corner for Ganguly. I firmly disagree, infact like many others I am a Tendualkar fan. But i stronlgy believe that u should give a person wht he deserves. The present Indian captain certainly deserves some applause for the way he has handled the team over the past few years.
See, I have no problem in admitting that Ganguly is a burden on the team in terms of his batting but can India get a better captain? Some say that we should try out Dravid atleast in the tests. It is not a bad idea at all. The selectors should ask Ganguly to play some more domestic matches and regain his form. However his one day record automatically selects him into the team.
Though his reputation has suffered tremendouslydue to his batting none can argue tht he is a good captain. Ask rival captains like Steve Waugh for a change. Earlier we used to be undone by the sledging and the ferocious body language of the aussies. Now we dont flinch and often carry the battle into the rival camp.( i believe this series was an exception.)
All great cricket pundits leaving some like Bedi have remarked that Ganguly is a very good captain. The body language and the demeanour of the entire team has undergone a metamorphosis from the days of azhar. That can and should be rightly attributed to ganguly's attitude.Though i strongly believe tht ganguly should be dropped from the test team it does not take away the fact tht he is or should i say was " the best and most successful Indian Captain in the history of Indian Cricket."

Post Eval

Well the eval got postponed a bit and that definitely prolonged the misery.
My panel was pretty peaceful. It comprised of my guide and two other profs.As I am in the goodbooks of my guide he did not ask a single question.While i was giving my presentation 2 of the profs were bhaating and the other kept looking at his watch. I thought of stopping in order to attract their attention, but instead continued. I was asked a single question which i satisfactorily answered after which i was given some suggestions. The eval was over in no time. End sems are a month away.
So now, I have lots of free time on my hand.There are lots of extracurricular activities that can be done in IITkgp. But i plan to sleep, bhaat, watch cricket and just enjoy life. I am a voracious reader,so i plan to finish a couple of novels. Infact i have started " The Last Juror" by John Grisham. It seems to have a gripping story line and a has a fast paced action. After Maxim Gorky's Mother i wanted an action oriented novel or a thriller. I think Last Juror fulfills the above criteria.
The interviews for the IIMs are going on. So, best of luck to all
IIM aspirants.
As the cricket season is in full swing I leave with u some of Sidhu's famous quotes

1. That ball went so high it could have got an air hostess down with it.

2. There is light at the end of the tunnel for India, but it's that of an incoming train which will run them over.

3. Experience is like a comb that life gives you when you are bald.

4. This quote was made after Ganguly called Dravid for a run and midway sent him back and Dravid was run out in the third test against the West Indies at Barbados. "Ganguly has thrown a drowning man both ends of the rope."

5. Sri Lankan score is running like an Indian taximeter.

6. Statistics are like miniskirts,what they hide is more important than what they reveal.

7. Wickets are like wives - you never know which way they will turn!

8. He is like Indian three-wheeler which will suck a lot of diesel but cannot go beyond 30!

9. The Indians are going to beat the Kiwis! Let me tell you, my friend, that the Kiwi is the only bird in the whole world which does not have wings!

10. As uncomfortable as a bum on a porcupine.

11. The ball whizzes past like a bumble bee and the Indians are in the sea.

12. The Indians are finding the gaps like a pinn a haystack.

13.The pitch is as dead as a dodo.

14. The way Indian wickets are falling reminds of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala, one falls and everything else falls!

15. You cannot make Omlets without breaking the eggs.

16. Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goal keeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.

17. He will fight a rattlesnake and give it the first two bites too.

18. One, who doesn't throw the dice, can never expect to score a six.>

19. This quote was made after Eddie Nichols, the third umpire; ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul 'NOT OUT' in the second test at Port of Spain T&T. "Eddie Nichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands."

20. Anybody can pilot a ship when the sea is calm.

21. Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two.

22. You got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants.

23. The cat with gloves catches no mice.

24. Age has been perfect fire extinguisher for flaming youth.

25. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.

An enigma called final year project

I guess all engineering students face this problem. It is unfortunately a compulsory part of all engineering curriculum and a student is supposed to devote atleast two semesters for it.Juniors often come to know that a certain senior has done a very fundoo project as a result of which he has got a hu ha job and so on and so forth. An air of mystery hangs around the term called " project" when one is in his initial years of engineering.One is not sure as to what it is all about. Hence, many or infact most of the students take up some sort of project in their second year. Hardly 10% successfully completes it though it might not be to the prof's expectations.All myths about " projects" are shattered and the student becomes reluctant to take up any such projects in future. I am talking about the common engineer not the " apping" types and the fundoo ones who are naturally inclined towards projects.
I have hardly come across an would be engineer who devotes regular hours of work on his project. People tend to wake up from their slumber a few days before their evaluation or report submission. The remaining days are full of night outs, tensions and what not. Using all type of search engines to find the best web page from whr u can copy the entire stuff,manually changing the results so as to satisfy the profs..........the days leading up to an evaluation are full of load. The culmination of this entire fiasco is the evaluation. Here a panel of profs awaits you to present whatever work u have done. A student is in real trouble if lands up infront of a dangerous panel. All types of
questions from the most relevant ones to questions like " How did u clear class 10?" can come up. The profs can genuinely praise one's work or they can screw u up badly. Often it depends on their moods. If one is very unlucky he might get an extension which means he has to work for 2-3 months after the end sem to complete their project. Nothing can be more horrendous than staying in the campus and doing ur extended project while ur friends njoy at home. A cool and confident approach along with some nice presentation should see one through unless he is
very unlucky.
Lets see how my first eval goes which is only a day away.