When the Indian cricket team gave way to ‘Team India’

So here was India, in Colombo, facing South Africa in the semi-final of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy. Sehwag and Ganguly got the team off to a rocking start, scoring 42 in 5.4 overs before Ganguly departed. The fiery pace attack of Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini was soon at India’s neck with the scorecard reading 135/4 in 25.2 overs. It seemed it would be a familiar downfall story of the past before two of India’s greatest decided to reply resolutely. Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh set about building up the innings with a valuable 72 run partnership. It was an impressive sign of things to come ahead. India ended up with 261 runs on the board with half centuries from Sehwag and Yuvraj. It was a decent score but the tail ought to have hit a few more. Despite that, the total seemed a fair one to fight for in a semifinal.

Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis though had other ideas. India bagged a wicket as early as the 3^rd over but after that it was all bright for South Africa. Both sucked the venom out of the Indian bowling attack and the match soon seemed a formality that would end in a South African win. What the Indian team did then, however, is unforgettable.

Herschelle Gibbs retired hurt (116*) at the end of 37^th over with South Africa needing a gettable 70 runs from 13 overs. Even more remarkable was the fact that 8 wickets and some reputed batsmen were still in bank. The target should have been a cakewalk. Instead, the rest of the match turned upside down. The 38^th over bowled by Harbhajan yielded 2 wickets. Of the two, one was that of Jonty Rhodes, who was snapped by a splendid Jontyesque catch from Yuvraj Singh. It was an unbelievable catch and an Indian doing it – which was a rarity in those days – surprised many. Despite Kallis fighting on till the end, the match went to the Indian team. Or at this point, it sounds fitting to say ‘the match went to the Team India’. Sanjay Manjrekar, on air, noticed how this young Team India had developed a hitherto unseen never-say-die attitude. The icing on the cake was the sight of spectacular superhuman catches by Yuvraj to dismiss Jonty Rhodes and Mark Boucher. Team India finally went on to jointly share the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 with Sri Lanka.

Undoubtedly and gallantly, a victory had been snatched out of the jaws of defeat. The Natwest trophy final win against England further strengthened and justified the sobriquet ‘Team India’. In ODIs, however, if there ever was a turning point, it was this match against the South Africans. Truly, since then, Team India has never looked back.