Special Mention –
The T-shirt saga:
The Flintoff tease – It was a tense situation in Mumbai when the India team, which faltered in the later part of the innings, needed 11 runs off the last over of the game, with the six balls to be bowled by Andrew Flintoff.
The tall and strong bowler grabbed the honors, in the end, leading his team to a win but an overambitious celebration by removing his t-shirt, running around the park by swinging it in the air was something out of the box. The disparate style of celebration hurt Sourav Ganguly to a level that he left walked back towards the dressing room soon after.
Dadagiri at Lord’s – Five months later, India was up against England in the Natwest final. While chasing a massive 326, the Indian team made a good start but stumbled in the mid of the innings before the young duo of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif shared a 121-run stand for the sixth wicket, taking India closer to the title. A last over finish was written in the destiny but in favour of the Indian team.
The hard work done by the young pair paid off as the Indian team won the NatWest series final and then came the moment when Sourav Gangly gave it back to Andrew Flintoff.
He took off his t-shirt and waived it in the Lord’s balcony. This win was of utmost importance as Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif showed glimpses of being responsible and performing when it matters the most.