'Thought game was done when Sachin got out, didn't know about Yuvraj, Kaif' - Nick Knight recalls India's NatWest series triumph

The Indian team has registered so many memorable triumphs in the last few decades and one of them which finds a special mention is the famous NatWest Tri-series victory on July 13, 2002. The Men In Blue did the unthinkable by chasing down a 300+ target at the Lord’s.

Recalling India’s famous triumph, former English opener Nick Knight explained how the match-winning partnership from Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif had left the hosts shell-shocked as India had lost half their side with hardly anything on the board. Knight had scored only 14 in that match but centuries from Marcus Trescothick (109) and skipper Nasser Hussain (115) propelled England to a mammoth 325/5.

The game back then was not played the same way it is done now: Nick Knight

“The game back then was not played the same way it is done now. So 325…I can tell you that when we were back in the dressing room and having some of the best foods we were pretty happy with ourselves. I knew we were playing against a good side with extremely good players but in those days if you got 325, you are the strong, strong favorites,” said Knight while speaking to Cricket.com

“And we really didn’t know much about Yuvraj and Kaif. We knew they were good and talented players but I didn’t really, if I’m really being honest here, that at 140 for 5 when Sachin got out did I think that these two guys whom we didn’t know much about can get the team up to 326. It’s not being arrogant or being stupid, it’s just the way you think at that point,” he said.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly (60) and Virender Sehwag (45) added 106  runs for the opening wicket and when the Indian captain was dismissed by Alex Tudor, it opened up the floodgates for England as they ran through the top-order in no time. At 146/5, a humiliating defeat seemed on the cards for the Men in Blue.

Nonetheless, Yuvraj and Kaif had other ideas and they counterattacked the English bowlers. The duo added 121 runs for the sixth wicket stand before the former was dismissed for a 63-ball 69. Mohammad Kaif then took the initiative of anchoring the chase and helped India register a famous win in the final over by two wickets. He remained unbeaten on 87 runs from 75 deliveries as Ganguly celebrated by removing his T-shirt in the Lord’s balcony.