This Day, That Year: Sourav Ganguly-led Team India won the 2002 NatWest Trophy final, watch

On this day in 2002, the Indian cricket team recorded one of their most prestigious victories overseas when they defeated a formidable England team in their home arena, which also included Sri Lanka, to win the NatWest Tri-Series. India reached the final by topping the points table with 19 points, having won four matches, lost one and drawn one game. England finished second with three wins, two losses and no result. He had a total of 15 points. India had defeated England once and Sri Lanka thrice, while England had defeated Sri Lanka twice and India once. Sri Lanka’s form was disappointing, having won one match and lost five.

The final took place at Lord’s, the most prestigious venue for cricket in the United Kingdom. A strong English line-up of Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, captain Naseer Hussain, Michael Vaughan, Andre Flintoff, Darren Gough met a young, energetic India team, featuring Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan , who were supported by experienced stars like Sachin. Tendulkar, Captain Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble.

See here India beat England in Natwest Trophy final…

cre trending stories

Yuvi-Kaif’s show #this day 13-07-2002. __ returned to Lord’s for another, less surprising victory against __ in the final of the NatWest Series. __ 146 for 5 chasing 326 to win @YUVSTRONG12 , @mohammadkaif Kaif added 121 runs before sealing a 2-wicket winpic.twitter.com/OeRhxme52b– Zohaib (Cricket King)___ (@zohaib1981) 13 July 2023

After electing to bat first, England scored 325/5 in their 50 overs. Captain Naseer scored 115 runs in 128 balls with the help of 10 fours. He shared a 185-run partnership with Marcus Trescothick for the second wicket. Left-handed Trescothick also played a blistering inning of 109 runs in just 100 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. All-rounder Andrew Flintoff played a helpful innings of 40 runs in 32 balls.

The Indian bowling line-up was taken to the cleaners. England’s ferocious, ferocious batsmen left no corner of Lord’s untouched. Zaheer Khan (3/62) was the best bowler for India, but he also took a beating. Ashish Nehra (1/66) and Anil Kumble (1/54) also took wickets.

India needed 326 runs to win the final. But the chances of an Indian victory looked doubtful as during this period, India often made mistakes while chasing big runs. The youngsters in the team also did not have enough experience in big matches to calm the tension and chase down the target with ease.

Openers Sehwag (45 off 49 balls with seven fours) and Ganguly (60 off 43 balls with 10 fours and one six) nevertheless gave India the start they wanted, scoring 106 runs in just 15 overs. wanted to After the dismissal of both the openers, India lost a few wickets in quick succession. Ronnie Irani and Ashley Giles got the big wickets of Sachin (14) and Dravid (5).

India were 146/5 in 24 overs, without much experience and established batsmen in the line-up, young Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif played with responsibility and helped India cross the 250-run mark. They shared a 121-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which ended with Collingwood dismissing Yuvraj for 69 (63 balls), which included nine fours and a six.

Kaif kept fighting with the tailenders. He shared a valuable 47-run partnership with Harbhajan Singh, who scored 15 runs worth his weight in gold. Kaif and Zaheer (4 not out) helped India seal a two-wicket win with three balls to spare. Kaif was India’s hero, scoring an unbeaten 87 off just 75 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.

#recycle On this memorable day when we made sure that our tricolor was flying high __

This encounter should have been called NaTEST instead of NatWest because it “tested” us on so many levels! ,

Victory would not have been possible without the efforts of all comrades. pic.twitter.com/b7rrc1DlPQ

– Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) 13 July 2023

Irani, Giles and Flintoff took two wickets each but India made one big incident, highlighting their fighting spirit and aggressive play. The most iconic image associated with this match came after the victory, with Sourav Ganguly taking off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and waving it with an expression of anger and joy on his face. He avenged a similar act by Flintoff in 2002 at India’s most iconic venue and sort of the center of Indian cricket, the Wankhede Stadium. Ganguly’s act signaled the arrival of a fearless new India, one that would not accept any challenge quietly. The team defeated a top class team at their home.

It is regarded as one of India’s best away wins as it not only helped India win the tri-series title, but also gave future match-winners like Yuvraj, Sehwag, Harbhajan and Zaheer a lot of experience, allowing India to win the tri-series title. Will help in winning the opening T20. World Cup (2007), ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) in the next ten years.