'What are you doing, Dada? What’s going on!' - When Sourav Ganguly's iconic celebration in Lord's balcony left Rahul Dravid surprised

It has been 19 years since Sourav Ganguly‘s epic celebration after the famous Natwest Final victory on July 13, 2002. The then captain gave a fitting reply to Andrew Flintoff, who had run all across the Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai, leaving the Indian fans and Ganguly disappointed.

Although the bilateral ODI series between India and England was tied at 3-3, the southpaw didn’t seem happy with the outcome and wanted an outright victory when these two teams contested during February 2002

In the end, the revenge was more sweeter for Ganguly and the Indian team that chased a steep target of 326, with two young players starring in the forefront of a special Indian victory. The moment Mohammad Kaif hit the winning runs, Ganguly, in no time, took off his T-shirt and waved it frantically at the England players from the Lord’s balcony.

The celebration also signaled an intent and aggressive side of India, which later went on to become synonymous with the Indian team. Over the past 19 years, Ganguly has often been asked in several of his interviews about that particular match and celebration, to which the BCCI president now feels a bit embarrassed.

Rahul Dravid surprised by Sourav Ganguly’s act after the Natwest final victory

While the rest of the Indian members liked how Ganguly gave back to Flintoff and the England fans, former India player Rahul Dravid, who was the designated wicketkeeper-batter during the 2002 final felt a bit bemused. All the Indian players involved during that match, except the batters were waiting anxiously when Kaif and Zaheer Khan were batting. The moment finally came, and Ganguly began his wild celebrations.

Dravid could not understand for a second if this was happening for real. During one of the episodes of Cricket Diaries, the 48-year-old opened a bit on his captain’s celebration that night at the Lord’s stadium.

“I was shocked, to be honest! Dada, kya kar raha hai. Yeh kya ho raha hai (What are you doing, Dada? what’s going on!) I think even Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) wanted to do it. I was pulling his shirt down and holding it, not letting him remove his shirt (laughs). Maybe I don’t know Bhajji’s body might have been a little better than Dada’s!”