2002 Natwest Series, India vs England: A recap

I have been watching and playing the game cricket for a very long time. In this long tenure, I have seen uncountable matches which are worth remembering and cherishing. But one match which is still fresh and hope will remain fresh in my mind for rest of my life was the Natwest Series final match between India and England in 2002. This was the match where India, batting second, miraculously ended the match on a winning note and posting a world record of chasing the highest total in that era.

It’s been 10 years since the match; but whenever I think of great matches, this match stills pops up in my mind. This match has lots of episodes to offer to everyone and in every aspect of the game.

The Indian bowlers performed very badly. The English batsmen were hitting the bowlers to all parts of the ground. Only one Indian bowler, Zaheer Khan, completed his 10 over spell on a positive note with one maiden over and 3 wickets to his name.

On the other hand, the English batsmen were just fantastic and were playing their own game. In the previous match against India, England had won by a huge margin and this boosted the confidence of the England team. Nasser Hussain, the captain, and ME Trescothik completed their centuries very comfortably and then Flintoff scored 40 runs from 41 balls ensuring the team score would cross the 300 mark and finally, they posted a total of 325 runs. This score was also the highest score for the England team in last 10 years.

Sitting in front of the television set, I was telling myself that it was impossible to win the match. I cannot imagine what the situation in the Indian dressing room would have been like. I can only guess that it wasn’t a very encouraging and motivating one for the Indian batsmen. Still, there was a hope that Indian Team can win the match if someone can start the match well from the Indian side.

As expected, Saurav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag started the innings. It was worth watching as both the batsman played shots all around the ground and made sure that India had a good start. By the time these two players departed, India was on the way to win the match. I liked the spirit these two batsmen showed by not playing the game under pressure; they were playing positively and posted 114 runs in just 15 overs. Suddenly, all the top order batsman collapsed and India was struggling at 146/5 and finding hard to get runs on board. Then some extraordinary happened. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, from nowhere, start performing and crossed the 200 mark in the 34^th overs. In this situation, all the focus was on these two batsmen. India just could not afford to lose any more wickets. Now it was the England’s turn to face and feel the pressure. Both the bowlers from both the ends were trying hard to get a breakthrough. Finally, in the 42th over, England got the wicket of Yuvraj Singh and India was still in need of sixty-odd runs to win the match from 8 overs. Harbhajan Singh played a unexpectedly important knock of 15 runs and also gave company to Mohammad Kaif and finally giving Indian team a historic win over England.

I still remember Saurav Ganguly returning the favour to Andrew Flintoff by waving his jersey in the air, indicating the new-found aggression in the Indian team.

I remember this game because it taught me the importance of fighting back and not giving up and trying your best in whatever situation you are in. This was the match that proved that sometimes all you need is a fighting spirit.