India’s triumph in the 2002 Natwest Final against England has a special place in the hearts of several Indian cricket fans and the epic encounter will certainly not be forgotten anytime soon. Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who scored 69 off 63 deliveries in that game, also played a vital role in guiding India over the line. However, the talismanic cricketer feels that if he would have had a ‘little bit more brain’ then the southpaw could have scored a century too. The 2011-World Cup winner also said that, just like skipper Saurav Ganguly, he also took his shirt off in that game but didn’t bag the headlines as he was wearing another T-shirt underneath. Every Captain Has a Favourite, Think MS Dhoni Really Backed Suresh Raina, Says Yuvraj Singh.

"I had removed my shirt but I was wearing another t-shirt underneath because it was cold in England. Nobody noticed it so I was saved," Yuvraj said while talking to Sports Tak. The 38-year old also said that despite lost many finals before that game, skipper Sourav Ganguly backed the team and boosted up the confidence.

“We had probably lost 9 or 10 finals before that and we didn’t have a good reputation on overseas tours. We all were new in the team and got a lot of backing from Dada (Sourav Ganguly). We were pretty down after England made 325. Back then targets like that used to be very difficult to chase. We got a good start but when Sachin Tendulkar got out I remember England players started celebrating like they had won the match,” said the two-time World cup winner.

Adding to the topic, Yuvraj also threw light on his 121-run match-defining partnership with Mohammad Kaif (87*) which helped India win the game by two wickets. The southpaw said that he and shared a great bond as they played a lot of junior-level cricket together. Yuvi also rates his knock of 69 as one of his best but also admitted that if he would have played with some maturity, he would have breached the three-figure mark.

"Almost 50% of the crowd had also left, mostly Indians. Then came Mohammad Kaif, we both said ‘haan khelenge’ (we will play). We ran between the wickets really well because we had played Under-19 cricket. We were hitting the ball really well, I was a bit more attacking of the two. After I got out, Kaif took over. It was probably the best knock of his career. One of my best knocks as well. If I had a little more brain back then, I would have scored a hundred," he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2020 03:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).