India missed a chance to replicate history

“I thought we played fantastically well and deserved to win. We have played well throughout series. We did not bowl well in the first half today but we batted like champions.”

It was the reaction of Sourav Ganguly, our beloved Dada, the then-captain of India, after winning the final of the Natwest Series in 2002. The game of cricket has produced many a nail-biting finish, but this one is special to each and every Indian cricket fan.

The Sri Lankan team, led by the veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, the third team in the tri-nation series, were unable to play to their potential in that series. They could only manage just one win out of the six games they played, and were eventually knocked out. India and England made it to the final. The final was scheduled on 13th of July, and could not be at any better venue than the Mecca of cricket, Lord’s.

England won the toss, and elected to bat first. It was a batsman friendly surface. Zaheer Khan was able to bring first success for the Indian team as early as the eighth over. England skipper Nasser Hussain replaced Nick Knight, and joined Marcus Trescothick on the crease. Both of them looked on a fine form and continued scoring runs, maintaining a healthy rate. They went on to put on 185 for the second wicket from just 177 balls before Trescothick fell prey to Anil Kumble, scoring 109 runs. Flintoff added 40 runs down the order to take England to a massive total to 325. Hussain was the top scorer with 115, which was the only century of his ODI career. It was a tough task for India, but definitely not impossible.

The way Ganguly and Virender Sehwag began the Indian innings made cricket lovers hopeful for an exciting match. Ganguly was in fine form, and with his beautiful strokeplay he raced to a 50 from a mere 35 balls. England was able to dismiss Ganguly for 60, and broke the opening stand of 106 runs. Then what followed, perhaps no one, not even the English camp expected. India lost their next four wickets for just forty runs and at 146-5, India had already lost Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

It was time for youngsters like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif to show their class and cement their position in the national team. They fought back from that position and went on a fearless all-out assault against the English bowling attack. Before the dismissal of Yuvraj Singh (69 from 82 bowls) in the 42nd over, the pair added on 121 runs from just 106 bowls. Kaif stayed till the end and ensured the match was won by India, with the help of the tailenders.

There are many reasons why cricket lovers remember this match. One is surely for the unbeaten 87 from Kaif. Another is the image of a bare-chested Sourav Ganguly waving his shirt in the air in the Indian balcony to celebrate India’s victory. The game kept on swinging from one side to the other, and neither team deserved to lose. Actually, the game of cricket won. The Man of the Match award was handed to Kaif, a deserving winner.

More than 10 years have passed after that event. Today, India got another chance to replicate the same achievement in the match played at Rajkot, in the 1st ODI of England’s tour of India. England batted first and scored 325 runs, helped by half centuries from Bell and Cook. The target was identical, and again the opening pair gave a good start. But unfortunately, no one in the middle order could hold the innings. Every batsman got a start, but no one could really capitalize. Yuvraj again played an important role in the match, scoring 61 runs from 63 balls. India managed 316 runs, 10 run short of the required total. India needed a player of the determination and mindset of Kaif to win the match. Still, it was an really exciting match. Both teams played well. Let’s hope to see an exciting series.