On this day in 2002, Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh combined to steer India to an incredible victory over England in the NatWest series final.
July 13, 2002 marks eighteen years of an iconic game at Lord's between India and England, where the Men in Blue defied odds to beat the hosts in the final of the NatWest series. The side, on the back of incredible innings from Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh, registered a memorable win against England. What followed, of course, was an unforgettable celebration from Sourav Ganguly on the Lord's balcony, as he removed his shirt and twirled it in the air to celebrate the victory - an image which would go on to become a defining moment in the rich history of Indian cricket since.
The celebration, however, also comes with a context. Five months earlier, Andrew Flintoff did something similar after England won the ODI series at the Wankhede Stadium. As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold.
Winning the toss, Nasser Hussain's English side elected to bat. Marcus Trescothick's (109) and captain Hussain (115) slammed brilliant centuries as hosts scored 325/5 in fifty overs. Flintoff, too, made a valuable contribution of 40 in 32 deliveries in the closing stages of the innings.
India began the chase confidently, with the opening duo of Virender Sehwag (45) and Sourav Ganguly (60) adding 106 runs in just 14.3 overs. However, it followed an Indian batting collapse, with senior players like Tendulkar (14) and Dravid (5) falling in quick succession.
India were struggling at 146/5 when youngster Yuvraj Singh was joined by his former India U-19 captain, Mohammad Kaif on the crease. The English side, as Nasser Hussain said not too long ago, was confident of victory.
However, the duo combined to steer India out of trouble and brought the visitors back in the game, adding 121 runs for the sixth wicket. When Yuvraj departed on 69, however, India still needed 59 runs to win.
Kaif, then, assumed the anchor's role and forged an important 47-run partnership with Harbhajan Singh. Kaif remained unbeaten on 87 and Zaheer Khan eventually hit the winning runs in the final over of the match to complete one of the greatest chases in India's ODI history.
"It was a great moment. We all got carried away, but that's what sport is. When you win a game like that, you celebrate even more. That was one of the great cricket matches I have been part of," Ganguly had said to India Test opener Mayank Agarwal in an interview last week, remembering the epic game.
