As Sourav Ganguly celebrated his 48th birthday on Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) turned back the pages to his epic match-winning century against South Africa in Nairobi in the semi-final of the ICC KnockOut Trophy in 2000. Facing a bowling attack that boasted of the likes of Allan Donald, Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock, Ganguly, who had only recently been handed the captaincy of the team, stood strong and led from the front as India beat South Africa to reach the final of the tournament.

Watch Ganguly’s stellar knock here:

On his birthday, relive Sourav Ganguly’s stunning 141* against South Africa in the semi-final of the ICC KnockOut Trophy 2000 pic.twitter.com/BK53IPuXpJ

ICC (@ICC) July 8, 2020

In an innings decorated with 11 boundaries and six sixes, Ganguly scored an unbeaten 141 off 142 deliveries to help India post 295/6.

Rahul Dravid, with a patient 58, and Yuvraj Singh with a quick 41, provided Ganguly with support in India’s innings.

South Africa crumbled under the pressure of the chase as India bundled them out for 200 to reach the final of the tournament.

Ganguly carried his superb form into the final, scoring yet another century, but a Chris Cairns-inspired New Zealand chased down the target of 265 with two deliveries to spare to win the match by four wickets.

Sourav Ganguly, who is now the president of the Board of Control of Cricket in India, enjoyed a fantastic playing career for India.

Promoted

The elegant southpaw played 311 ODIs, scoring 11,363 runs and 113 Tests in which he accumulated 7212 runs.

He also led India to the 2003 World Cup, where he scored three centuries and finished only behind Sachin Tendulkar on the list of highest run-getters.