The final of the Natwest Trophy in 2002 is one of the most iconic feats in Indian cricket history. Beating England in England was not easy, and the Indian team won that match from almost an unwinnable situation.
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England posted a total of 325/5 in the 1st innings, where Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain scored their respective centuries. This target was not achieved at the Lord’s in the last 27 years (at that time), but the Indian team wrote history. Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag gave India a brilliant opening stand of 106 runs in just 14.3 overs.
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However, the Indian team was soon reduced to 146-5. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif then added 121 runs between them to earn a historic win. Kaif was awarded the Man of the Match trophy for scoring 87 runs in 75 balls. After the win, Ganguly opened his shirt and made that famous wave at the Lord’s balcony.
When Sachin Tendulkar was surprisingly against Sourav Ganguly’s shirt wave
Rajeev Shukla was Team India’s manager during the Natwest series, and he revealed an interesting incident about the same. Shukla revealed that Tendulkar was against Ganguly’s idea of waving the shirt at the Lord’s Balcony after the series win. The little master believed that it was against the spirit of the game.
“Sourav wanted that all the players do it. Maybe he wanted to pay back Andrew Flintoff in the same coin. But Sachin came and whispered in my ears that ‘this should not be done. It’s a gentleman’s game and if Sourav wants to do it let him do.’,” Shukla had said.
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Ganguly’s shirt wave celebration was a reply to Andrew Flintoff, who did the same by beating India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Shuka revealed that Ganguly wanted every player of the team to do the same, but Tendulkar clearly denied the idea.
The win against England was very important for the Indian team as they lost 9 consecutive ODI finals before that win. It is safe to say that Ganguly’s celebration is one of the iconic moments in Indian cricket history.
