On this day in 2002: Yuvraj Singh’s all-round contribution helped India defeat England in league match of NatWest Series – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

The 2002 NatWest Series marks a significant triumph for the Sourav Ganguly-led Men in Blue because of the commendable team effort throughout the campaign and also the skipper’s iconic celebration from Lord’s balcony on the final day. However, India dominated the entire series from the very first match.

It was 29 June 2002 when India stepped into the Home of Cricket, Lord’s to square off with England in their first game of the tri-series. The day turned out to be a glittering memory for the Indian fans as they witnessed the rise of Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh who has later knocked on the record book of cricket several times during his 17-year-long career.

Coming off a win against Sri Lanka in their first match, the hosts headed to the venue with much confidence. Batting first, the English skipper Nasser Hussain wanted to put up a challenging total in front of the decorated Indian unit. The opener duo- Marcus Trescothick and Nick Knight pulled off a good start with an 86-run stand. After the dismissal of Knight, Hussain joined hands with Trescothick and steered the innings. While Trescothick left the crease at a 78-ball 86, the skipper fetched a half-century scoring 54 off 82 deliveries.

While England were in the dominant position batting at 201 for 2, Yuvraj Singh was brought into the attack. The left-arm spinner turned out to be the wizard and scythed through the English middle-order by scalping three crucial wickets during his 7-over spell. First, he trapped Hussain and then sent Andrew Flintoff and Graham Thorpe off to the pavilion. Between 33rd to 40th over, England went 5-man down and managed to add only 21 runs to the board. After that, no batter managed to play a big knock and the innings ended at 271 runs in 50 overs.

In reply, Virender Sehwag and Ganguly kickstarted the Indian innings with a 109-run opening partnership. After Sehwag went back to the hut for a blistering 65-ball 71, Ashley Giles and Ronnie Irani collective bagged 3 quick wickets including Dinesh Mongia, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly. While India was trailing by 131 runs with 6 wickets left in hand, Yuvraj Singh paired with Rahul Dravid to lead the chase.

The duo went hard on England’s bowling unit and displayed a composed effort to take the side home. Both of them remained unbeaten till the last and successfully brought down the chase with 7 balls left to spare. Dravid registered 73 runs in 86 deliveries and Yuvraj Singh whacked a quickfire 64 facing only 65 deliveries. For his immense contribution to both departments, Yuvraj Singh was awarded the player of the match title.