Top-5 innings by Mohammad Kaif

Just a few hours ago, veteran Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif finally called it a day from all forms of competitive cricket. The retirement announcement comes on the exact same day when, sixteen years ago, the man himself played a crucial role in the NatWest series finals against England, the match that Kaif will be remembered for, for his brilliant innings.

Kaif played his first game for India in a Test match against South Africa in 2000. He played in just twelve tests more throughout the length of his international career. He debuted in ODIs in 2002 against England at Kanpur and went on to play a total of 125 ODIs throughout his career.

As for his domestic career, he has played for Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh, winning the Ranji trophy once with the former team. He also made a mark in a few IPL games before 2012, where he has played for the likes of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals.

With the departure of one of the pioneers of Indian cricket in the 2000s, let us take a look at some of the best knocks he has played.

Kaif en-route his most memorable innings

#1. 87 not out (75 balls) vs England, Final: NatWest Tri-Series Trophy, London, 13 July 2002.

India are widely regarded as the masters of chase these days but things were not very easy even a decade earlier. India's lack of ability in the chasing sector had acted as a demon on many occasions, with the team losing several high-profile matches as a result.

When England compiled 325/5 at the end of 50 overs having won the toss and electing to bat first in the finals of the NatWest Trophy at Lord's, no one expected a miracle to happen and for India to win. Centuries from Nasser Hussain and Marcus Trescothick almost made sure that England ran away with the title, it was more-or-less just a question of how early it would be.

Sehwag and Ganguly gave India a good start, stitching a century partnership for the first wicket. But as the duo returned to the pavilion, India suffered an immediate downfall, with Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Mongia, and Rahul Dravid failing to create a mark as the score now read 146/5 at 24 overs. On the one end was Yuvraj Singh, and Kaif came out to replace the dismissed Tendulkar at the other end. With needing 180 runs from 26 overs, what followed was history.

A rare partnership ensued between the two youngsters, as they thrust and parried their way through the wilderness, eyes set on nothing else but the target. Eventually, Yuvraj fell and so did Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, but Kaif stood firm on his end. Slowly and steadily, with Zaheer Khan as partner, he steered the team to the shores of victory, an impossible one at that, with three balls to spare. His individual score read 87 not out off 75 balls, including six fours and two towering sixes.

As Ganguly memorably celebrated the win by taking off his shirt and waving it around, India had a new hero in Mohammad Kaif, who was playing just his 14th innings in limited-over internationals. He was also awarded the Man-of-the-Match.

#2. 111 not out (112 balls) vs Zimbabwe, Group-stage at the ICC Champions Trophy, Colombo, 14 September 2002.

Andy Flower watches on as Kaif bats on his way to a century

Post the NatWest finals, the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy came beckoning just over two months later and Kaif was selected for play in their opener against Zimbabwe. Batting first, India had lost five wickets for 87 runs, Rahul Dravid fighting by himself on one end. Kaif came on to partner him and picked up right from where he had left off at Lord's.

Just one more wicket fell later in the Indian innings, as Dravid fell for 71 when the score read 204. Kaif then partnered Anil Kumble, as he led Indians to a decent score of 288/6. He made an unbeaten 111 runs on his own off 112 balls, including eight fours and a six. The not-out partnership between Kaif and Kumble amounted to 84 runs, out of which the latter scored just 18.

India would eventually know how crucial every run scored by Kaif was as Zimbabwe almost engulfed India, falling short by just 14 runs in the end. Kaif was awarded the Man-of-the-match for the second time in a row.

This particular knock is also his highest ever score in ODI cricket.

#3. 95 not out (103 balls) vs South Africa, TVS Cup at Bangladesh, Dhaka, 13 April 2003.

Mohammad Kaif with Yuvraj and Ganguly during the game against South Africa

In 2003, India and South Africa toured Bangladesh for a tri-series. The second match of the series was held between India and South Africa. The Proteas were coming fresh from a thorough drubbing of the hosts a couple of days previously, and was in full confidence. India on the other hand, had rested Tendulkar on an injury scare, and was playing Gautam Gambhir instead.

Though Gambhir fell early on, Sehwag and Ganguly proceeded without much harm. Sehwag eventually fell when the score read 84, and out came Kaif who was promoted ahead of Yuvraj. That proved to be great decision, as the left-right combination unleashed attack across all ends, to propel the score further up. By the time Ganguly (75 off 80) was out, India had reached 175.

Yuvraj was run-out after a short tenure, and Mongia came out to partner Kaif. The two carried the innings until the last possible ball, putting up 110 runs for the fourth wicket. Both Kaif and Mongia scored half centuries, Kaif scoring 95 runs as he fell agonisingly short of a deserving 100. He had seven fours and three sixes in his kitty.

South Africa folded for just 154 while replying, handing India a 153-run win. Top-scorer Mark Boucher was brought into the hands of Kaif as he proved his fielding mettle as well.

Mohammad Kaif became Man-of-the-match for a third time, courtesy of his knock in the first innings.

#4. 102 not out (121 balls) vs New Zealand, Videocon Tri-series, Harare, 2 April 2005.

Mohammad Kaif

succesfully

attempting a sweep shot en-route his ton

Zimbabwean pitches have always been seen as unpredictable. Still, the Kiwis emerged as strong favorites ahead of the first clash between Indians and them in the tri-series of 2005. Scott Styris, Stephen Fleming, Craig Macmillan, and Lou Vincent ensured the fact with substantial knocks, with the innings eventually concluding at 278/9, which was a decent score at Harare.

However, the innings that followed showed the Indians pulling off a remarkable heist, as Sehwag, Dravid, Dhoni and Yuvraj all contributed nicely to the chase. The best of it all came from Kaif, who came in at 66/1 and saw to it the match ended successfully, staying at the crease till the very end.

Kaif scored his second and last ODI hundred till date on that day, finishing with 102 off 111 balls, including 11 fours. With wickets falling on the other, Kaif securing his end meant that India had a pillar of strength around which the chase progressed.

The knock gave Kaif his fourth Man-of-the-match award as the final Indian score read 279/4.

MS Dhoni looks on as Kaif celebrates his maiden Test ton

#5. 148 not out (243 balls) vs West Indies, India Test tour of West Indies, Gros Islet, 10-14 June 2006.

Kaif has played only a total of 12 Test matches and has just 624 runs in his credit in the longest format. 148 of those runs came against Windies in a single innings, as a Dravid-led Indian side completely dominated the opponents in their own backyard during the series of 2006.

India won the toss and elected to bat first. Day 1 was completely taken up by Sehwag as he produced a whirlwind of a knock. When compatriot Wasim Jaffer fell as the score read 159, he had taken only 43 of those runs. Sehwag continued until he was dismissed for an individual score of 180 after which captain Dravid too came up with a well-composed ton.

The score was 306/4 when Kaif entered and together with Dravid, he built a century stand. There were 40-run-partnerships with MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan and a 33-run stand with Kumble. In the meantime, he managed to bring up his one and only Test hundred, a sublime knock that extended till his individual score read 148 not out, taking 243 balls. He hit just 12 boundaries along the way and proved how good he was playing Test cricket as well.

With Dravid declaring the innings as soon as Kumble fell, Kaif could not complete his 150. Still, it was one of his best knocks ever and also his highest score across formats in international cricket.

Dismissing Windies first for 215, India enforced a follow-on on the hosts with hopes of victory. However, the Windies played out a careful game, salvaging a draw with just three wickets remaining.

This was also Kaif's last series of playing red-ball cricket. He would go on to feature in just two more Test matches after that.