Twitterati reminisces Sourav Ganguly's famous shirt twirling incident at Lord's on its 19th anniversary

The Sourav Ganguly-led India's come-from-behind victory in the 2002 Natwest series final is one of the most significant events in the sporting history of India.

The image of Ganguly removing his jersey and twirling it during the aftermath of the victory has etched itself into the folklore of Indian cricket.

Andrew Flintoff did something similar earlier that year in Mumbai after England won the ODI series in India. The Indian skipper gave a fitting reply to the English all-rounder at the home of cricket.

On the back of centuries from opener Marcus Trescothick(109) and skipper Nasser Hussain(115), England posted a massive total of 325/5 in the first innings.

In reply, openers Sehwag(45 in 49 balls) and Ganguly(60 in 43 balls) gave India a blazing start by putting together a 106-run opening partnership in 14.3 overs. But India went on to lose some quick wickets and was reduced to 146/5 after 24 overs.

Mohammad Kaif(87* in 75 balls) and Yuvraj Singh(69 in 63 balls) joined hands to stop the fall of wickets. The duo also scored runs at a good pace and brought their team back into contention to win the game with their 120-run stand.

Kaif remained unbeaten at the end to see off the chase as India reached 326/8 with three balls left in the innings to complete one of the most unforgettable wins in ODI cricket history.

As soon as Kaif and Zaheer Khan finished the second run, Ganguly took off his shirt on the Lord's balcony and started twirling it passionately to celebrate the victory.

Fans on Twitter pay tribute to Sourav Ganguly's iconic shirtless celebration

The memorable match took place on July 13, 2002. Fans reminisced about the famous encounter and took to Twitter to pay tribute to Ganguly's shirt twirling celebration.

About the author

Balakrishna has been a cricket writer at Sportskeeda for almost seven years. A sport that he has been following and playing since he was eight, Balakrishna enjoys the intensity of the sport, skills and strategies applied to get a result out of nowhere, and the thrill that it gives. He also played as a medium pace bowling all-rounder in four inter-college tournaments, winning twice.

Balakrishna’s all-time favorite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. He admires Sachin’s stellar performances against legendary bowlers, along with his discipline and humility. Meanwhile, he is a big fan of how Rohit turned around his initial struggles to build a successful career.

He avidly supports Team India and 2016 IPL winners SunRisers Hyderabad. The first World Cup that Balakrishna ever saw was the 2003 World Cup, when Australia comprehensively triumphed over India in the final.

While working, he ensures he only uses reliable sources and provides relevant, ethical, and accurate information. When not working, Balakrishna enjoys playing table tennis and reading non-fiction books.

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"Lord of the Lord's" - Twitterati reminisces Sourav Ganguly's famous shirt twirling incident at Lord's on its 19th anniversary

Fans on Twitter pay tribute to Sourav Ganguly's iconic shirtless celebration