Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly

 Bangalore is largely seen as Rahul Dravid territory, but there probably were more Dada-specific banners at the Chinnaswamy on Saturday-Sunday than at the Eden during Test No.2.

That, perhaps, said quite a bit.

The biggest statement was, of course, made by the man himself — Sourav. He's in his 36th year, a time when most cricketers have either quit or are looking to do so.

Sourav, however, is hungry.

"Call it a driving force or whatever, but I want to continue being successful... The hunger hasn't died... Form permitting, I intend playing through 2008 ," the former captain (our most successful in Tests) told The Telegraph a tad emotionally.

It took Sourav 99 Tests (an unusual record, by the way) to get his maiden double hundred, but the innings was worth the wait. It's going to be counted as a classic, not least because he took guard at such a trying time.

Not that Sourav's anywhere close to leaving the big stage, but it would've been a disappointment had his Test career, which began with a debut-hundred at Lord's, ended without a double.

After the 102 at the Eden, Sourav had hoped he'd get a double before signing off. If that was a prayer, it got answered within eight days!

Sourav, in fact, has had a fantastic 12 months since his comeback. So, did the forced exile from Team India, in the Greg Chappell-Kiran More era, make him a better cricketer?

"Not better, but probably more determined... I wish to add that the circumstances and the manner in which I got dropped (after a spat with Chappell) just weren't right... I don't have an issue with being left out, that's part of the game, but the manner wasn't right ," he maintained.

Sourav was kept out of ODIs from October 2005 to December 2006 and, in Tests, didn't play between February and November 2006. He'd also been dropped for two matches (Ahmedabad, Faisalabad) between December-January 2005-06.

Today, that seems too distant. As for Sourav, he's not bitter, but hasn't forgotten those days either