Even Bhajji Wanted To Remove His Shirt Like Ganguly, But Dravid Didn't Let Him; Remembering 2002 Natwest Final

"I was shocked! Bhajji was beside me and I remember even he wanted to do it but I was pulling his shirt down and holding it and not letting him remove his shirt," said Dravid.

Image: Twitter/ @ANI_Digital

New Delhi: It was 19 years ago, on this very date that India won a major limited over series overseas. 13 July 2002 was the date when India won the Natwest series final at Lord's Stadium in London. The images of then Indian captain and current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly waving his shirt in the balcony of the iconic stadium have stayed in the Indian memory and have become timeless. There are many memories about the game, but there is one funny one as well which was shared by Rahul Dravid recently. 

In an interview with Viu India, Dravid was remembering the Natwest final when jokingly he said that "I was shocked! What is Dada doing? And Bhajji was beside me and I remember even he wanted to do it and I was pulling his shirt down and holding it and not letting him remove his shirt."

The Indian team in the 2000s was considered a top-order heavy team. Once Sachin-Ganguly-Dravid were out, there was hardly any players who would make their presence feel in the middle order. That final changed this perception. 

Story of the Match

India was chasing 326 to win the final against England. For England, Nasser Hussain and Marcus Trescothick had scored centuries to post this huge total. India received a good start and the first wicket fell when the score was 106, but then, wickets kept on falling. Sehwag, Mongia, Dravid and Sachin fell in quick succession. India was struggling at 146/5.

The final looked like going in favour of the hosts when two young Indian talents, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif were present at the crease. India required 180 runs in 27 overs with all their main batsmen in the hut. Yuvraj and Kaif had a good partnership of 121 runs. Yuvi got out when India's score was 267. With India still requiring 59 runs, Mohammed Kaif had to be smart about batting with tail-enders. 

Kaif had good partnerships with Zaheer and Harbhajan and India won the match in a dramatic fashion with the help of over-throw runs in the final over of the match. Kaif was adjudged Man of the Match for his match-winning performance. 

Here are the Highlights of the Natwest Series 2002 Final:

Let's see how some Yuvraj Singh is remembering this final:

Why Did Sourav Ganguly Take Off His Shirt?

Dada, as he is fondly known has an image of being a calm and composed person but Ganguly lost his cool and waved his shirt from the Lord's balcony. In an interview given to Gaurav Kapur, Ganuy revealed the reason behind the act himself. He told that it was Flintoff's act during a previous series that triggered this "mistake". 

“The idea came to my mind just at the moment. I remembered how Andrew Flintoff took off his shirt at Wankhede to celebrate a 3-3 series draw before, and I just thought why not do the same at Lord’s. But I am also embarrassed about the incident.

My daughter once asked, ‘Why did you do that? Is it necessary to do that in cricket?’ And I had to tell her that ‘No, I did it once by mistake’. Somethings things happen in life in which you do not have any control,” said Ganguly as quoted by Cricktracker. 

Natwest 2002 Final will always remain special for Indian cricket fans!