Kolkata: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has inaugurated a theme-based Durga puja pandal which is designed in the style of the iconic Lord's balcony shirtless moment when an ecstatic Ganguly took off his shirt and waved in celebration of India's historic win over England in 2002. That winning moment remained etched in cricket fan's memory forever. It came alive during this year's Durga puja celebrations.
In the presence of cricket enthusiasts, Ganguly declared open the victory theme-based pandal on Tuesday evening on the dwitiya (second day) of the Durga Puja festival. The Garia’s Mitali Sangha brought back memories of the historical moment of triumph over England in the NatWest Trophy finals back then. The pandal organisers deftly incorporated the winning moment design in its Durga Puja theme and mandap decoration. During his visit, Ganguly was visibly overwhelmed by watching the Mitali Sangha mandap.
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Only a few days ago, while taking part in an event, Ganguly said that he has been invited to inaugurate several puja pandals, but his strong wish is to go for the inauguration of the puja pandal of Garia Mitali Sangha. In the Lord's victory moment, the then Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly put up a dramatic shirtless show that hogged limelight, drawing both praise and criticism. As soon as the winning runs were scored, Ganguly took off his jersey on the Lord's balcony to mimic former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff’s similar gesture in the series, leading up to the spectacular win in the NatWest Trophy.
The iconic triumph over England in the NatWest Trophy finals of 2002 is etched in the memory of all Bengalis and is considered one of the greatest and most cherished moments in India's cricketing history. The celebrated Lord's moment theme of the pandal has turned into a visual treat for cricket fans all over Kolkata.
