India vs England ODI Flashback: When Andrew Flintoff took off his shirt on the field

India hosted England in the 2001/2002 season that involved a 3-match Test series and followed by a 6-match ODI series with a Christmas break for the visitors between the two series’. Team India won the Test series 1-0 on the back of their win in the first Test at Mohali by 10 wickets. England had an advantage in the next two matches but both of them ended in a draw. The ODI series was lot more competitive witnessing quite a few thrillers and the series line read 3-2 in India’s favour ahead of the final ODI in Mumbai.

India sneaked in a 22-run win in the first ODI played in Kolkata despite a brilliant century from Marcus Trescothick. England were well placed at 224/4 in the 36th over chasing 282 before Trescothick’s triggered a collapse as they lost their last six wickets for just 35 runs. England levelled the series in Cuttack as they won the game by 16 runs despite Indian lower-order’s fight with the bat.

India won the Chennai ODI under Anil Kumble’s captaincy by four wickets before Sourav Ganguly returned for the 4th ODI in Kanpur where they took an unassailable 3-1 lead. The hosts dominated the 39 overs-a-side game in Kanpur as they chased down the target of 219 in just 29.4 overs for the loss of two wickets. England stayed alive in the series with a 2-run win in a nail-biting thriller in Delhi where Darren Gough successfully defend nine runs.

A thrilling finale in Mumbai:

England won the important toss in the final ODI at the Wankhede and elected to bat first. Trescothick extended his series tally to 318 runs with an 80-ball 95 as England cruised at 6+ an over. However, Harbhajan Singh’s five-wicket haul brought India back into the game as the England side was bundled out for 255 in 49.1 overs. The local-boy Sachin Tendulkar scored only 12 runs but Virender Sehwag (31 off 29) gave India a quick start.

Sourav Ganguly continued the pace along with Dinesh Mongia (35 off 61) as India raced towards the target ahead of the required rate. However, the entry of the spinners changed the scenario as Michael Vaughan also extracted pace and bounce from the Wankhede track. India touched the 100-run mark in 14.4 overs but added only 55 runs in the next 14.4 overs before Mongia was stumped off Vaughan. The top-order batsman turned out to be more lethal than their primary spinner Ashley Giles.

Sourav Ganguly, the Indian skipper scored 80 off 99 balls with four fours and four sixes before he tried to play a sweep off Giles. The ball took an edge on the back of Ganguly’s bat as he missed the shot and the ball deflected was on to the stumps. Andrew Flintoff bowled seven overs for 27 runs without any success before Mohammad Kaif was caught in covers. India were half down by the 40th over with another 50 runs needed to win the game.

Rally round the Wankhede:

Hemang Badani and Ajay Ratra added 18 runs in the next 27 balls before Ratra tried to slog Vaughan after failing to score a boundary after the 38th over. Ajit Agarkar bagged a duck while Flintoff got rid of Harbhajan Singh in his 9th over. The equation came down to 18 needed from the final two overs. Gough bowled the penultimate over and conceded only seven despite Badani getting a boundary on the 4th ball. Flintoff, who wasn’t at his best on the tour with both bat and ball was given the responsibility of defending 11 runs in the final over.

Five runs came off the first three balls with Anil Kumble taking a couple and a single and Badani sneaked in a couple as well. Kumble then tried to creep in a bye on the 4th ball after Badani missed a widish delivery but was run out by the bowler at the striker’s end. The game came to an end when Javagal Srinath tried to work a full-length delivery towards the leg-side by moving across only to find his stumps dislodged.

Flintoff celebrated the victory running around the Wankhede waving his shirt in the joy having levelled the series. India toured England later that year and were joined by Sri Lanka for an ODI Tri-Series. The Indians were crowned as the champions as they won a high-scoring final at Lord’s by two-wickets. The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly celebrated the win by swinging his shirt in the Lord’s balcony as his response to Flintoff’s antics in Mumbai.

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