Sourav Ganguly felicitated by British Parliament

The British Parliament complimented Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday, a day during which he won the Natwest final 20 years ago.

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Reigning president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly, was conferred with a prestigious recognition as the British Parliament felicitated him on Wednesday. The felicitation date clashed with the historic date of July 13 in 2022, when he led Team India to the famous Natwest ODI series final win against England at Lord's in London, a game he made famous by swirling his shirt in the air at the Lord's balcony following the victory. He turned 50 years old last Friday, and his celebration videos near the London Eye were viral on social media.

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"The British Parliament felicitated me as a Bengali, so it was nice. It was in the Parliament. They contacted me six months ago. They do this award yearly, and I got it," Ganguly told ANI. Recalling the Natwest final, he remembered, "Oh! Yeah, I saw that on Instagram. It has been a long time, isn't it? 20 years ago. Yeah, great moments in sport. Beating England in England is nothing better than that. The current team is doing it. They won the T20 series. They are one up in the one-day series."

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Analysing India's win in the opening ODI against England at The Oval in London, Ganguly displayed, "That is what England has always been. There will always be helpful for the bowlers. I thought Bumrah and Shami were outstanding in the first spell, which took the game away from England. India batted well to win with ten wickets. 110 runs show how well they batted on this pitch. It has been terrific so far."

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India lost the rescheduled fifth Test to England on this tour, thus drawing the five-Test series 202 for the Pataudi Trophy, retained by the hosts. Analysing the same, Ganguly articulated, "Yes, but it happens in sport. You got to give credit to England. They played exceptionally well on that day. Chasing 400 in the fourth innings is never easy, and it was the highest run chase. So, that is the way it is 2-2 in the Test match series."