Mohammad Kaif shares that his parents didn’t watch his final winning knock of NatWest series 2002

The NatWest tri-series 2002 final between England and India is an unforgettable moment for every Indian fan who witnessed that match on television. The match is remembered for a spirited batting performance from young turks of the Indian batting line-up as they chased down a stiff target after losing the senior players, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and others for around 100 runs on board.

The England team had posted 325 runs on the board thanks to centuries from captain Nasser Hussain and Marcus Trescothick. Such a score was well above par back in the day, especially in the final of the series. But two young Indian batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif decided to not give up and proved everyone wrong as the Men in Blue stunned England team as well as the spectators at Lord’s with their amazing batting.

Story of Kaif’s parents going for a movie instead of watching son bat

Mohammad Kaif, the hero of the match for the Indian team, recently appeared on the show Breakfast with Champions and recalled his time at the ground. “It was an opportunity for me to prove all the hard work that I had done from my childhood and this was something I didn’t want to let go. And I remember when Sachin (Tendulkar) was walking out after getting dismissed and as I was entering the Lord’s ground, it was a common belief that when Sachin gets out, India used to lose the match,” Kaif was quoted as saying on the show.

Despite a start of 106 runs in 14 overs, the Indian team was reduced to 146/5 including the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, as England took control of the match. Then Kaif and Yuvraj (69) came together at the crease and created history, by counter-attacking and added 121 runs for the fifth wicket. Kaif went on to score 87* and won the match for the team and was named Man of the Match, as the Indian team lifted the trophy.

He further revealed that his parents had gone to a movie after Sachin got out and missed their son’s brilliant batting. Kaif recalls, “In fact, my parents went for a movie after Sachin got out, they went for Shah Rukh‘s Devdas, in a theatre near my house. Didn’t see their son play. When we won the match, the entire colony came to my house, saw the door locked. They thought the family has done this themselves since Kaif won them the match.

The crown then got to know that the family was in fact in the theatre watching a movie, and the people went there told them that their son had won India the game.

Here is Mohammad Kaif recalling the Natwest final and much more:

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