It was a NatWest Final at Lord’s between England and India. The Indian side was pretty much new to international cricket, especially if compared to England’s side. No one said it would be a one-sided match, but no one actually gave any chance to India.
Dominating England at NatWest Final
Marcus Trescothick 109(100) and skipper Nasser Hussain 115(128), set the game for England and they scored 326/5 in 50 overs. This was the era before the T-20s, so the target of course was overwhelming.
India was at 106 when the first wicket fell. It triggered the fall of the next 4 wickets and in just 6.3 overs, India from 106/0, in absolutely no time, found themselves at 146/5. England felt the game was done, so did the Indian fans.
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Dramatic finish to game and euphoric start to the youngster’s careers
Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, the two youngsters, probably had nothing to lose, they gave everything they had and shared 121 runs partnership in just 17.4 overs. Yuvraj couldn’t finish the game, scoring 69(63) with 9 fours and 1 sixes. Â
There was the twist in the tail, a quick two wickets, and India was 8 down for 314, still 13 short of victory. But Zaheer Khan however faced 7 balls and scored 4. The 2 out of 4 actually were the winning runs. Kaif scored unbeaten 87(75) with 6 fours and 2 sixes. India won by 2 wickets with 3 balls remaining. Kaif had been awarded Player of The Match.
We all know how Dada celebrated at the Lord’s balcony after the victory of the NatWest Final at Lord’s.
A forever regret
The intriguing thing actually happened in India. Watching the Indian team collapse, a couple decided to go for a movie and when they came out of the movie, everyone was congratulating them. Why?
The surprising answer is, they were Mohammad Kaif’s parents! They would be still regretting their decision as they missed the game when their son played an innings of his entire career.
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