Calcutta: With Greg Chappell and Kiran More calling the shots till a year back, most assumed Sourav Ganguly’s ODI career would end with 279 appearances, last being at the Harare Sports Club in the September 2005 tri-series final versus New Zealand.

On Sunday, though, the former Team India captain played his 300th ODI and looked good for many more. Indeed, his excellent all-round show got him the MoM award.

Once past 35, most cricketers begin focusing on life after retirement. Sourav, on the other hand, is probably looking to complete a double century of sixes in ODIs (he’s 15 short) and, yes, he would surely give anything to add to his centuries — the 22nd was way back in the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup.

Interestingly, since his ODI comeback in January, Sourav has scripted half-centuries in 10 of the 20 matches where he took guard. His performances after returning to Test cricket, last December, have also been impressive.

Clearly, Sourav has defied the pundits who’d predicted that a casual mover with a (perceived) weakness against the short-pitched stuff would never be able to build on a comeback.

They’d forgotten that at the highest level sport is as much about being tough in the mind as having the skill. A big dose of self-belief too.

Sourav underlined that himself during a one-on-one with The Telegraph. Asked what had kept him going during the many months that Chappell and Co. looked at just about everybody except him, he replied: “Had a lot to do with self-belief… I knew I was still good enough to play for India. It’s easy to give up, very easy to hang up one’s boots. I didn’t want to do that…

“I wouldn’t have hung around endlessly, but I didn’t want to leave without convincing myself that I’d given my best shot… I wasn’t emotional and accepted that sport is different from fairy tales…”

The darkness of the wilderness did nothing for his confidence, but Sourav would tell the ones closest to him that he would never be pushed into retirement. That he would leave on his terms.

Actually, his return to big-time cricket hasn’t been short of a fairy tale: From being the highest scorer in his Test comeback series (in South Africa) to being the most composed during the recent Tests in England to deftly changing gears in the ongoing ODIs.

That Sourav is back to opening (in ODIs) with buddy Sachin Tendulkar has, obviously, made a difference. No pair has been more successful — not even Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes or Matthew Hayden-Adam Gilchrist — and, at Headingley, the duo produced the summer’s most classy partnership.

After a mere seven in the first five overs, Sachin and Sourav smashed 50 in the next five! John Lewis won’t forget the spanking he got from Sachin (71) early on and James Anderson will think three times before trying to intimidate Sourav (59).

The pair put on 116 before Sachin got out in the 20th over. Each run was worth travelling miles to applaud. By the way, they’d featured in a massive partnership during the 2002 Test win there as well (under Sourav’s captaincy).

“It was important to score in an important game,” a beaming Sourav said after receiving the MoM award. That was moments after captain Rahul Dravid acknowledged his contribution with a “hats off” salute.

Footnote: Sourav’s ODI debut was back in January 1992, but his next appearance was after a four-year break. In that period, India played 91 ODIs. Then, between September 2005 and January 2007, Sourav wasn’t considered for 41 matches.