It was the final of the Natwest Series back in 2002. The venue being Lords in London and the two teams ready to go at it. India taking on hosts England and the world watching. Team India had lost some crucial wickets and was chasing a huge total. The target was 326 and in stepped a young duo of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. Sourav Ganguly, a nervous skipper was giving instructions from the pavilion.
Things did not look that great at the start of the Indian batting. Wickets falling everywhere and the last to go before this pair stepped up, was the mighty Sachin Tendulkar. Mohammad Kaif said in one of his interviews about the game that his parents switched off the television when they saw Tendulkar get out and 300+ to chase.
The Video Of Sourav Ganguly Giving Instructions That Went Viral And Then Mohammad Kaif Responds
It was a brilliant game and the fans will remember it as one of the greatest chases of all time. It is already down in the history books and has immortalized both Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. They had become “legendary” overnight at that point in time.
Though Yuvraj Singh was the one who went on to do bigger things over the years, Kaif was the player of that match.
Below is the video of Sourav Ganguly giving Kaif instructions and his response to the same that had gone viral on Social Media-
When Sourav Ganguly asks a player to take a single and give the non-striker the strike, generally, it is hard to say NO. However, Kaif had other ideas. Afer the instruction, he hit the bowler for a six off the next ball. Despite that, he stayed at the crease till the very end and saw his team across the line.
Kaif ended up making 87 runs at the end of the game. He had done his part in pushing India across the line after starting slow. Yuvraj Singh scored quick runs and was the hitter.
Team India Needs More Such Match-Winners If They Want To Win The T20 World Cup Later In The Year And The 2023 50-Over World Cup
Team India has always had some great batsmen. However, they are in need of more quality finishers. MS Dhoni was one such name that always seemed to finish things off. Hardik Pandya is one such star who can do the job when needed.
To add to that, Team India still needs more talented finishers. It is not easy to win games without too many good finishers. Any match that is played of whether 20-overs or 50-overs, needs finishers. That is why the former Indian skipper was so highly-rated.
With that being said, Sourav Ganguly gave Team India a lot of gems. The likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif will forever be remembered and missed. That is, whenever the Indian team chases a total of above 300 runs. They have just done enough to be remembered forever. History books will never forget these two names for that brilliant game that changed Indian cricket that night!!
