Indian team is currently enjoying the perks of being one of the best teams in cricket. It enjoys a formidable position in cricketing world. It is because of a team which can win in any condition at any place. It boasts of historic victories like the Gabba, 2021 Lord's victory and many more such. The never giving up attitude is now deeply imbibed in the team members. However it was not always the case. One match changed it all.

It's been 21 years since the historic NatWest 2002 series final, where Ganguly and his men pulled off a victory to remember for a billion fans. It was a match, where India showed the world that they are ready to face any team with the same might, and that India will never give up at any point of time. What was supposed to be a normal final of the series, turned out to be the a victory, which is etched in heart of all the Indian fans.

A mammoth target of 326 runs lied ahead in front of the team. And looking at the previous record of tournament finals, and crucial moments, it looked like the team is going to falter. However, skipper Saurav Ganguly, the man who revolutionized Indian cricket, had different plans. He started to thrash the bowlers giving clear indication that Men in Blue are here to win. Also he had some personal duels to settle with Andrew Flintoff, which motivated him to perform better.

A solid opening partnership enhanced Indian hopes, but a quick collapse made fans think of the result again. India were down to 146/5 from 106/1. Ganguly, Sehwag, Dravid, Sachin were all back in the dressing room. With half of the team back in pavilion, and Sachin out , most of Indian fans switched off their television sets, as they didn't want to see the team getting defeated again. Infact Kaif's parents were also amongst one of those who did the same.

And then what followed was nothing less than magic for Indians. Last recognised batters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif decided to give a fight back. The two stars of 2000 U-19 world cup kept the hunt alive. And when Yuvraj was dismissed Kaif continued to thrash the English bowlers, thereby pulling off an unbelievable win for India. Skipper Ganguly wildly celebrated the win by removing his jersey. He did it to avenge Flintoff's celebration at Wankhede an year back, but Ganguly's celebration infuriates English even today.

When asked about the celebration, Ganguly said he wanted to show the world that if you mess with India, India will not spare you. And rightly so, India had already shown glimpses of it under leadership of Ganguly. A year back, they did register a victory after follow on was enforced on them. However, they had to prove it in overseas condition. And what better place to do the same than Mecca of cricket.

The win changed everything for India. India had very few overseas success. Ajit Wadekar's team won the first time away from India, but then winning a series away from home was still a rare sight for India. And India never looked threatening in conditions away from subcontinent. However, this victory changed it all for the team.

The most important thing which the team got was belief. The belief that no matter what the situation is, there is always possibility of a victory. It showed the team that if every member fought hard till the end, and never gave up, the result will go in our favour. It also showed team over dependant on Sachin, that even if God of cricket gets out early at times, the team can win. And these lessons learnt by the youngsters proved to be very successful for India as a unit.

Thereafter, India looked a much evolved team. In the immediate next year, it was finalists of 2003 world cup. And in the years to follow, it went on to win T20 world cup,Odi world cup, Champions trophy all in a span of decade to follow. Furthermore, the changed approach of the team helped it win many first's series victories in SENA countries. It went on to make a mark in all format rankings. And it gave faith to the Indian fans that India is here to win, no matter where they play. Ganguly truly changed the face of Indian cricket. And therefore, the NatWest 2002 final will always be remembered as one of the greatest wins of Indian team. Exactly 21 years ago, the same evening, Ganguly changed fate of Indian cricket.