Sourav Ganguly turns 54: Sehwag revives the Lord’s balcony moment

Sourav Ganguly turned 54 on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, and Virender Sehwag’s birthday message said everything without saying much at all. The former India opening batter took to X with a post that was part tribute, part poetry, pointing back to the one moment both men shared that cricket fans have never quite let go of.

Sehwag and Ganguly walked out to open the batting together in the NatWest Trophy final at Lord’s on July 13, 2002. The two put on 106 runs for the opening wicket before the chase fell apart and India found themselves in serious trouble at 146 for five, chasing 326. What followed was a rescue by Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif and a famous two-wicket win, and it set the stage for the moment everyone remembers most.

“There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who wear shirts. And those who take off their shirt and make history. That day, the whole of India felt it — yes, brother, now we’re in it too. Happy Birthday Dada @SGanguly99. That Lord’s balcony is still open today. #HappyBirthdayDada,” Sehwag wrote on X.

What made Sourav Ganguly’s Lord’s celebration the image of a generation?

England had posted 325 for five that day at Lord’s, anchored by Marcus Trescothick’s 109 and Nasser Hussain’s 115. India appeared done at 146 for five, but Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif stitched a 121-run sixth-wicket partnership to drag them over the line. Kaif finished unbeaten on 87. As the winning runs came, Ganguly stripped off his jersey and waved it at the Lord’s balcony, a pointed response to Andrew Flintoff, who had pulled a similar celebration at Wankhede in Mumbai earlier that year.

For Sehwag, the birthday tribute was personal. The Najafgarh batter had opened with Ganguly in that same final, scoring 45 as part of that 106-run first-wicket stand, before falling with the chase still very much alive. His message on Wednesday carried the weight of someone who was actually in that dressing room.

How is the cricket world celebrating Sourav Ganguly’s 54th birthday?

As wishes poured in from across cricket on Wednesday, the Lord’s balcony image kept coming up. The Prince of Calcutta remains one of the most transformative captains Indian cricket has seen, credited with building the fearlessness that later generations carried into wins across the world. At 54, those tributes show the legend is far from over.

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