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If ‘great minds think alike’ idiom wanted an commercial then Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid offered simply that in the well-known NatWest Trophy final towards England at Lord’s in 2002.
The tales of that NatWest final are limitless. The cricketers concerned in it by no means get drained of sharing them and neither do the followers present any indicators of boredom understanding them. India have snatched victories from the jaws of defeat many occasions however there was one thing about that final at Lord’s that it has one way or the other managed to surpass all of them and preserve a particular place amongst Indian followers.
Former India wicket-keeper Ajay Ratra, who was additionally a member of that NatWest Trophy-winning Indian squad, gave an perception into what transpired inside the dressing room when England had posted 325 for five batting first.
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It was a final, that too at Lord’s. 18 years in the past, something above 300 was thought-about to be a defending aspect’s sport to lose. It was however pure that the ethical of the workforce wouldn’t be on the larger aspect. Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid sensed this.
All three of them spoke collectively. “We will play our natural game, then we’ll see where it goes.” That was it, the shot in the arm the workforce wanted.
“325 in 2002 was a big score and that too in a final at Lord’s, which is England’s stronghold. England were playing very well in that tournament. So the atmosphere inside the dressing room was not that good in the beginning when our innings had started but everybody was positive. Sachin, Rahul, Dada said that we will play our natural game and let’s see where we end up. That lifted us all,” Ratra, who wasn’t an element of the taking part in XI in the final advised Hindustan Times in an unique chat.
“We knew we had batting line-up. Viru, Ganguly began very effectively. When you might be chasing a complete as massive as that one, likelihood is undoubtedly much less. But the method Dada and Viru gave us a brisk begin by placing on a 100 stand in fast time, so that you get some kind of confidence.
“We knew we had depth in batting. Rahul was taking part in as a ‘keeper, we had pure batsmen till No.7. We did lose four-five wickets quickly in the middle but the good thing about that team was that our run rate was maintained throughout the chase,” recalled Ratra.
India were reduced to 146 for 5 despite a brilliant 106-run opening stand between Ganguly and Sehwag.
“When five wickets were down, I had gone there to give drinks to Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif since I was not playing that game. We had some time to talk so the conversation was on that grounds that we just need more than a run a ball. All we need to do is stay confident. But the way they played their shots, pulls, over covers I think it was one of Kaif’s greatest innings,” Ratra mentioned.
Yuvraj Singh scored 69 and Mohammed Kaif remained unbeaten on 87 as India chased down the goal with two wickets in hand and three balls to spare.
What adopted after the win was much more dramatic. India’s captain Sourav Ganguly waved his shirt from the Lord’s balcony which has now grow to be an element of cricketing folklore.
“There is a history behind it,” mentioned Ratra. “We had played against England a few months before in India. I had made my debut at Eden Gardens in that series. That had ended up being a 3-3 draw. We were leading 3-1 but England won the last two matches to equal the series and the way Flintoff removed his t-shirt in Wankhede to celebrate was a moment that we all remembered. Dada we all know is aggressive; he remembers things and gives it back when the opportunity comes. So at Lord’s we chased down that target and the way he removed his t-shirt at Lord’s to give it back to Flintoff was the best. We as a team performed really well to win that.
“That was also a bit surprising, to be honest. If the young cricketers like Yuvraj, Harbhajan had done it then it would have been fine but Dada doing that was a bit instant. Everybody was surprised. But we all were very happy. The celebrations continued till late night,” added Ratra.
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