After the new coveted Anderson-Tendulkar trophy was launched ahead of the marquee five-match Test series between England and India, the duo sat down for a chat, talking about the huge honour. During the chat, both James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar were asked if they could pinpoint the moment that ignited the rivalry between England and India. During which, the pacer noted that it was the famous Andrew Flintoff and Sourav Ganguly moment for him, which escalated the rivalry.
Notably, in February 2002, after a win against India at the Wankhede Stadium, Flintoff took off his shirt in celebration and swirl it over his head. A few months later, the moment was recreated by former India captain Sourav Ganguly. In the final of the Natwest series, the Men in Blue required 326 runs to win, and after plenty of ups and downs, they managed to get the job done, with Zaheer Khan hitting the winning runs in the final over.
Soon after hitting the winning runs, Ganguly was spotted recreating Flintoff’s celebration at the Lord’s balcony, which became iconic, to say the least. Anderson believes that the same moment gave birth to the England-India rivalry.
“What stood out for me was the 2002 ODI series. I think all the big series need rivalries, and the Flintoff-Ganguly moment created a storyline. I think from that it sort of escalated,” Anderson said on Sky Sports.
‘That was special’ - Tendulkar on Flintoff-Ganguly episode
When Anderson was talking about the Flintoff-Ganguly episode, Sachin commented, ‘That was special.’ Previously, he also talked about how the 2002 tour shaped the England-India rivalry. He believed that at that point, a lot of fans were travelling to watch the game in the country and with that, the series turned into a rivalry.
“In 2002, we played four Test matches. That’s when it started getting big. Before that, it was quite subdued. From 2002 onwards, there were different results and outcomes and that resulted in more eyeballs, more people turning up. I felt Indians started travelling more. So, the difference between the 90s and now is that there are a lot more Indians travelling. A lot more Indians possibly settled here. That helped us to fill the stands. More engagement, more encouragement and we really appreciated that,” Sachin said.