In September of 2002, two months after the NatWest Trophy final, India found themselves in trouble when a familiar 21-year-old came to Ganguly and team’s rescue There is no shortage of epic innings played by some of the established stars of Indian cricket. Everyone knows Sachin Tendulkar’s Sharjah double, the first-ever double-century in ODI history. Or the other 97 international centuries he scored. Who doesn’t remember Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif’s famous rescue act at Lord’s? And in terms of partnerships, few match the onslaught Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly unleashed on Sri Lanka in Taunton during the 1999 World Cup.
MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma added to the bandwagon as time passed. Dhoni’s brutal 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur, 2005, Kohli’s love affair against the Pakistan bowling attack worldwide, and Rohit’s three ODI double centuries will likely last the test of time. But what about the unsung heroes? The under-appreciated yet pivotal innings played by lesser-known cricketers – knocks that quietly faded into the annals of history. Though crucial in their moment, these hidden gems seldom receive the recognition they deserve. Hence, on that note, let’s rewind to September 2002, when a young and emerging batter, just one year into his international career, saved India the blushes.
The stage was the Champions Trophy. India entered the tournament a month after their historic NatWest Trophy win. Surprisingly, though, the team had no sponsors. The lucrative deal was cancelled after the BCCI was forced to drop their logo during the tournament. India was prohibited from displaying the Sahara India Group logo on their players’ clothing due to a conflict of interest with South African Airlines (SAA), an official sponsor of the tournament. The Sahara Group, whose diverse business portfolio spans financial services, media, and a national airline, faced this restriction because of its aviation interests.
However, none of it mattered when India began their campaign against Zimbabwe. Back to business, India were expected to steamroll their opponents, but an unfamiliar script unfolded as the game played out. Batting first, India were in all kinds of trouble after the top-order collapsed. Ganguly (13), Tendulkar (7), Yuvraj (3) and Dinesh Mongia were all back in the hut, courtesy of Douglas Hondo’s four-wicket opening burst, while Virender Sehwag’s entertaining knock was cut short at 48. At 87/5, up stepped Rahul Dravid and India’s star from their previous ODI, Kaif, and before you knew it, the duo brought their team back into the game with a partnership of 117 runs for the sixth wicket.
