I was alive when..: A look at some of the best moments in sport from the last 13 years

Being a kid of 1990s, these images will always stay with me till I die. I will feel proud to tell my grandchildren about some of the fascinating sporting moments that we witnessed in last decade or so. It was a pure honor, not just watching them but also being present in this world when they actually transpired. Note: The events considered in this slideshow are from the period of 2002-2015. There were numerous sporting moments which made us laugh in joy and cry in pain. Be it team India’s famous comeback swin at Eden Gardens in 2001 to stop the Australian Juggernaut or Brazil’s thrashing by Germany in 2014 FIFA World Cup, Watching Federer shed tears after Australian Open loss and of course who can forget Sourav Ganguly who whirled his shirt at the Lord’s balcony after India’s unbelievable victory in the Natwest Trophy final of 2002. Each of these moment made us forget our worries and gave us something to smile at. Hope this collection will make you people recall all such moments and bring that curve back on your face.

#5 Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Date: 2nd April 2011.

A night to remember for the whole nation...Indeed.

It took India nearly 28 long years to bring back the cup which they lifted in that epic final of 1983. Well, this final was even more special as it was played in the Indian Mecca of Cricket, Mumbai, in front of a packed crowd of 42,000. The Men in Blue were given a daunting task of crossing a total of 274. Their task became even more difficult when they lost Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar with negligible scores.

But Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli began the rescue act after the opening blows, putting on 84 for the third wicket before the latter was caught-and-bowled by Tilakaratne Dilshan. MS Dhoni walked in at 5 to join Gambhir in the middle and the duo put on 118 runs for the 4th wicket, thereby putting an enormous amount of pressure on Kumar Sangakkara and his men.

Gambhir was unfortunate to miss out on a hundred but Dhoni carried on and in the company of the eventual Man-of-the-Series Yuvraj Singh, helped India win their second World Cup title finishing the job with a six off a Nuwan Kulasekara delivery.

Even though, it is Dhoni, who will be credited for this win, I think the role played by Gambhir was of even more important, considering the precarious position India was in, when he came to bat. This final was watched by 135 million viewers only in India and each one of them was given a special treat by Dhoni’s Blue Brigade. Those scenes of joy will be remembered by everyone for many more years to come.

#4 Venue: Beijing Shooting Range Hall. Date: 11th Aug 2008.

Abhinav Bindra with his gold medal in Beijing in 2008

Till this moment, Hockey was the only sport to bring the golden glory to India in the Olympics. But, Abhinav Bindra proved everyone wrong in a nerve-wracking final round where he produced a scintillating performance to steal the gold medal after finishing 4th in the preliminary round. The concentration with which he fired the consistent scores of above 10 in all the rounds was just immaculate.

Those who have seen that final must remember how calm and composed he was throughout that final round. Apart from being first Olympic with golden lining for India, it was the best performance by the Indian contingent in any Olympic till date. The account opened by Bindra was increased to 3 with the bronze medals won by Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh. The 2008 Olympics marked a beginning of a new era for India as it demonstrated the world, how Indians can prove their mettle globally as well.

#3 Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London. Date: 6th July 2008.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer after their epic Wimbledon final in 2008

Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer in a Wimbledon final. You just cannot ask for more and this match, in particular, lived up to all the expectations to produce the match of the century. Nadal took the unexpected lead by winning the first two sets 6-4. But, Federer clearly made his intent clear by winning the next 2 sets on a tiebreak. The tiebreaker from fourth set in particular produced the kind of tennis which was never seen before.

The match continued for 4 hours and 48 minutes to break the record for longest Wimbledon final at that time. Both players fought bravely, but as the light faded on Centre Court, that shot from Federer struck the nets and Rafa finally got what was due for a long time. His Wimbledon title after two failed attempts in the final in 2006 and 2007. The quality of tennis displayed in that match was just beyond imagination and the manner in which these two battled and the humility with which both of them accepted the fate of the match, was just amazing.

Here’s the video of that unbelievable final:

#2 Venue: Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany. Date: 9th July 2006.

Zidane’s 110th-minute headbutt eventually helped Italy won the world cup.

France and Italy were the unexpected finalists of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The latter was looking to win it first World Cup title after 24 years while French captain Zinedine Zidane was looking to lift his second World Cup title of his careerand finish his journey on a high. The match also was very interestingly poised with the scoreline of 1-1 at the end of 90 regular minutes of play. But, the drama which unfolded at the 110th minute of the match, left everyone shocked. Italian defender Marco Materazzi was headbutted by the french captain, who was immediately red-carded for this horrifying act. Zidane not only missed the last 10 minutes of the match but also the chance to take an all-important penalty kick for his country in the shootout which France eventually lost 3-5 to give the Azzurris their 4th World Cup title.

Here's a video of that incident:

#1 Venue: The Lords. Date: 13th July 2002.

Sourav Ganguly is ecstatic after his win

A daunting target of 326 to win the trophy, half of the team back was in the pavillion with not even 150 on the board. The odds were completely against Team India. But, as they say...adversity is the biggest test of the greatest of players and that's when 2 unexpected men rose to the occasion and made a mockery of those odds. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif proved that the new generation of Indian players can take any challenge head on and that they are not dependent on any star performer to perform.

Still, those who have seen this match will surely remember one particular scene that happened at the balcony of this Mecca of cricket more than what had transpired on the ground that day. This was the beginning of a new era. An era of fearless India. Ready to give 100% each and every time in all the departments whenever they get on the field. Those pictures of Sourav Ganguly waving his shirt off the balcony of Lords, will always remain fresh in every cricketing mind of India.

Here are the highlights of that fantastic game of cricket: