Birthday Special: Mohammad Kaif – India’s NatWest hero
Coming from Uttar Pradesh, Mohammad Kaif grabbed eyeballs after leading India’s U-19 team to a World Cup victory in 2000. The team comprised Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra, and Reetinder Sodhi – all of who went on to represent India. Kaif’s talent and prowess at a young age earned him a Test cap against South Africa at only 20. But somehow, he failed to make an instant impact at the international level and the selectors subsequently found others over him.
Drafted back into India’s ODI squad during the 2001-2002 home season, Kaif made his case strong with some impressive batting. But it was during the 2002 NatWest series in England that he truly showed his potential. India had a reputation of being bad chasers at that point of time and heavily relied on the saving efforts of Sachin Tendulkar.
When Kaif made history
The entire nation, including the 21-year-old’s parents, changed channels once the Master Blaster got out in the Natwest Final. Everyone had already accepted that India – a team that had made it a habit to lose big finals – will add another one to the list. A young batsman in the form of Kaif came in at number 6 after the likes of Tendulkar and Ganguly had all departed. “What would a noob manage to do if the Little Master himself was back in the hut”, was the common line of thought amongst the distraught Indians.
Little did they know that the entire site of Indian cricket was about to change in the hour that followed, courtesy of the same noob that everyone wrote off! Kaif scored an unbeaten 75-ball 87 and was involved in a remarkable 121-run partnership with another young sensation Yuvraj Singh. The duo ensured India chased 326 in a victory for the ages.
The Natwest trophy final remains one of the most memorable moments in the Indian cricketing landscape as two young men guided the country to glory in the final over. The winning runs sparked incredible celebrations all around, including skipper Sourav Ganguly’s iconic moment of taking off his shirt and giving it back to Andrew Flintoff’s Mumbai antics.
Kaif followed it up with a century against Zimbabwe in the ICC Champions Trophy but somehow lost momentum and was eventually dropped again after an uneventful 2005-06 season. Representing India in 13 Tests and 125 ODIs, he might not have been able to carve his name in the list of one of the best cricketers who represented the nation. But the evening at Lord’s, Kaif etched his name in the heart of cricket fans forever.
