On this day in 2002: India secure a sensational victory in NatWest Series final
On 13th July 2002, two young Indian cricketers, Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh led a scintillating Indian fightback and helped their side post a come-from-behind victory over the England side in the final of the Natwest Series. Let us go a little deeper to relive this humdinger of an encounter between India and England.
The cracking encounter
On the day of the final, the England side won the toss and elected to bat first. And, the England innings was mainly about two willow wielders, Marcus Trescothick and skipper Nasser Hussain. While Trescothick scored 109 off 100 deliveries, Hussain scored a 128-ball 115. The duo put on a mammoth partnership of 185 runs for the second wicket.
Andrew Flintoff then provided the final flourish for his side, and scored a brisk 40 at a strike rate of 125, as England piled up a mammoth total of 325/5 in their allotted 50 overs. Zaheer Khan was the pick of the bowlers for the Indian side. In the 10 overs that he bowled, the left-arm seamer picked up 3 wickets and gave away 62 runs.
India started their run chase in remarkable fashion, as the Indian openers, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag decimated the England bowling attack. Ganguly and Sehwag put on a rollicking 106-run opening stand.
But then, after the departure of Sourav Ganguly, India lost a flurry of wickets and were reduced to 146/5. The likes of Dinesh Mongia, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were back in the hut and another loss was on the cards for India.
But then, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif stood up for the Indian side. The two youngsters played positive cricket, were not bogged down and took the attack to England. Yuvraj and Kaif were involved in a sensational partnership of 121 runs for the 6th wicket. And, even after Yuvraj departed after smashing 69 off 63 deliveries, Kaif continued the fight.
Kaif stayed till the end, scored an unbeaten 75-ball 87*, as India accomplished a spectacular feat, and overhauled the target set by England with 2 wickets to spare and won the summit clash of the Natwest Series. And, for his stupendous knock under pressure, Mohammad Kaif walked away with the Player of the Match award.
