The second match of the India-England 2002 Test series was characterized by two significant gambles. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of england and injuries to their experienced spinner Kumble and wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, India risked another devastating defeat in the upcoming test.
& it was in response to that
That India responded with two gambles
Gambles that would change the course of the match and the shape of Indian cricket.
The Indian team took risks to turn the tide.
The first gamble was made by Captain Ganguly, who convinced Virender Sehwag, a batsman with no prior experience as an opener in tests, to open for India against England at Lord's. With a simple carrot and stick approach. The stick being - the fear of never ever getting a chance to play in the middle order
Because of a lineup boasting of Rahul Dravid, sachin Tendulkar, laxman, while the carrot being the assurance that even if he failed, he wouldn't be dropped and would be given a chance in the middle order.
So Sehwag took the crease with the aim of enjoying himself, resulting in 84 runs in the first innings, while most other players struggled.
So…given the terrible condition of Indian bowling on English pitches
Combined with sehwags opening brilliance
Ganguly decided to hedge all his bets on batting.
& then come the match - Despite losing early wickets of Dravid and jaffar, Sehwag came, & blasted the English bowling apart
Batting as if having nothing to lose
He took the pressure off the other batsmen. With Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, along with Virendra Sehwag, Harbhajan and Agarkar allowed India to post a fighting total.
Ganguly’s gamble seemed to be working.
but then England's batting onslaught destroyed Indian bowling
Vaughan scored 197 in 258 balls. Half century from Butcher, 87 from Stewart, 94 from White, giving a total of 617 runs.
Also managing to take out Jaffar and Sehwag before 4th day end.
once again putting India in a precarious position.
It took Sachin and Dravid's determined partnership on the final day.
The will to bat slowly and gradually - while getting beaten up,
On a completely unpredictable pitch…..all while smiling
That india didn’t simply collapse in front of an unsurmountable total
And then when it looked as if dada was gone settle the match
The Englishmen
In desperation
Doubled the pressure with bouncers with verbal barbs.
Sledging their way into knocking the Indian players out.
Finally being rewarded with dads wicket
This made Andrew Flintoff
Who was in the washroom at the time,
to come out running with drinks and spit abuses at Ganguly.
Claiming that they will now - bury them.
Further the line-up was Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Parthiv Patel and Zaheer Khan. With agarkar and bhajji Getting out back-to-back.
India again being on the verge of a loss
But then came the second gamble in the story.
Which revolved around the selection of Parthiv Patel, a 17-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.
inspired by Adam Gilchrist's success, The selectors were searching for a wicketkeeper who could bat,
Various wicketkeepers like MSK Prasad, Sameer Dighe, Saba Karim, Vijay Dahiya, Deep Dasgupta, Ajay Ratra, and Nayan Mongia had been tried and failed before, so Patel was chosen as an understudy to Ajay Ratra. However, due to Ratra's injury, Patel unexpectedly found himself taking the crease.
Despite facing volleys, bouncers, and constant verbal jabs from the English team. All close call were used as a weapon to shake him off the crease. Patel simple said - im just 17
What have I to lose?
&simply stood his ground scoring 19 runs.
These runs becoming crucial, to help India secure a draw in the test match. Despite England's attempts to bully him, Patel's resilience and determination had pulled off a miraqcle for India
They had definitely pulled a great escape
This match marked a shift in the team's mindset, instilling them with resilience and confidence. It proved that they had the talent, grit, and perseverance to compete at the highest level. The stage was set for the final two tests of the series, a showdown between a furious England team and an Indian team resolved to secure victory at Headingley
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