Team India’s historic triumph in the NatWest Series final in 2002 was one of the highlights of Sourav Ganguly’s glorious captaincy stint. The Men in Blue had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in that game against England at Lord’s.
Chasing 326 to win, India were struggling at one stage after a magnificent start. However, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif changed the complexion of the match with a stand of 121 runs for the sixth wicket.
While Yuvraj scored a blistering 63-ball 69, Kaif remained unbeaten on 75-ball 87 to guide India over the line with 3 balls and 2 wickets to spare.
Recently, former India wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, who was also a member of that NatWest Trophy-winning squad, gave an insight into the atmosphere of Indian dressing room when England had piled up 325/5 on the board.
“325 in 2002 was a big score and that too in a final at Lord’s, which is England’s stronghold. England were playing very well in that tournament. So the atmosphere inside the dressing room was not that good in the beginning when our innings had started but everybody was positive. Sachin, Rahul, Dada said that we will play our natural game and let’s see where we end up. That lifted us all,” Ratra told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat.
“We knew we had a good batting line-up. Viru, Ganguly started very well. When you are chasing a total as big as that one, chances are definitely less. But the way Dada and Viru gave us a brisk start by putting on a 100 stand in quick time, so you get some sort of confidence.
“We knew we had depth in batting. Rahul was playing as a ‘keeper, we had pure batsmen till No.7. We did lose four-five wickets quickly in the middle but the good thing about that team was that our run rate was maintained throughout the chase,” he recalled.
Opening the innings, Ganguly (60 off 43 balls) and Virender Sehwag (45 off 49 balls) added 106 runs inside 15 overs. Despite their brilliance, the visitors were reduced to 146 for 5.
“When five wickets were down, I had gone there to give drinks to Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif since I was not playing that game. We had some time to talk so the conversation was on that grounds that we just need more than a run a ball. All we need to do is stay confident. But the way they played their shots, pulls, over covers I think it was one of Kaif’s best innings,” Ratra said.
The Natwest final also became iconic as captain Ganguly had taken his shirt off at the Lord’s balcony after the victory.
“There is a history behind it,” said Ratra. “We had played against England a few months before in India. I had made my debut at Eden Gardens in that series. That had ended up being a 3-3 draw. We were leading 3-1 but England won the last two matches to equal the series and the way Flintoff removed his t-shirt in Wankhede to celebrate was a moment that we all remembered. Dada we all know is aggressive; he remembers things and gives it back when the opportunity comes. So at Lord’s we chased down that target and the way he removed his t-shirt at Lord’s to give it back to Flintoff was the best. We as a team performed really well to win that.”
“That was also a bit surprising, to be honest. If the young cricketers like Yuvraj, Harbhajan had done it then it would have been fine but Dada doing that was a bit instant. Everybody was surprised. But we all were very happy. The celebrations continued till late night,” he concluded.
