Before the turn of this millennium, India’s fielding standards painted a sorry picture. Running gingerly, with hardly any motivation to throw themselves at the ball, the Indians were largely like a bunch of primary class students forced to do physical exercise in the hot sun.There were just a handful of Indian fielders who could stay at par with the fast-improving ground fielding standards around the world. Things took a turn for the better with the injection of fresh blood in the team, under the tutelage of Sourav Ganguly and John Wright. While the core of the team remained unchanged, several new players came in, attaching themselves as vital pieces to complete Team India’s jigsaw puzzle. Mohammad Kaif managed to carve a niche for himself by revolutionising fielding in Indian cricket. He dived and jumped with gay abandon, clutching catches out of thin air and effecting direct hits from a mile, all of it concluding with his infectious smile.
Also read: 5 cricketers whose USP was their fieldingOn the occasion of his 36th birthday, we rewind to some of Kaif’s best pieces of fielding in the Indian blue:
#5 Shaun Pollock’s run-out, 2006
This one goes back to the one-day series between India and South Africa, a lopsided tournament that took place exactly one decade back.In the 36th over of the South African innings, Shaun Pollock nudged a Harbhajan Singh delivery to the vacant off side region in search of a run. Dhoni, stationed behind the stumps, ran like an ox, chasing the ball, even as Pollock covered half the pitch and encountered a strong no from the “I-am-not-budging” Justin Kemp at the other end.
As Dhoni managed to make ground in time, he rocketed a throw towards Mohammad Kaif, who had run from backward short leg till the stumps. The return was a bit awry, but it didn’t matter to Kaif, who dived to his right and collected the throw with one hand, directing it onto the stumps in one smooth motion.
#4 Paul Collingwood’s run out, 2004
Arguably England’s best fielder ever, Paul Collingwood, was at the receiving end of another of Kaif’s insane fielding efforts when he managed to run out the Englishman before anyone could even bat an eyelid.
The effort was so quick that even the broadcaster’s cameraman couldn’t pick the ball’s movement in real-time, and we had to run through the slow-mo replays to marvel at the brilliance of Kaif.
Collingwood, trying to attack Harbhajan, used his feet to get to the pitch of the flighted delivery. He tried to nurdle it past Kaif, positioned at short leg, but could barely turn back by the time Kaif stopped the ball and relayed the throw with his left hand towards keeper Dinesh Karthik, who dismantled the stumps as if part of a practiced drill.
#3 Nick Knight’s catch, 2002
It is always difficult to take catches that are born from miscued hits off a spin bowler. The revolutions on the ball make it difficult to gauge its trajectory and speed.
During the 2002 NatWest series (the tournament that really brought Kaif in the limelight), Kaif pouched a brilliant catch off the bat of Nick Knight during one of India’s games at The Oval.
Facing Yuvraj Singh’s then harmless left arm spin, Nick Knight miscued a sweep shot, managing to balloon the ball towards the short fine-leg region.
Kaif, standing at square leg, ran as if for his life, covering a lot of ground, eyes ever transfixed to the ball. As he saw the ball dying on him, he dived full stretch, stealing the catch inches from the ground.
#2 Nick Knight’s run-out, 2003
Poor Nick Knight didn’t see the last of Kaif in the NatWest series. A year later, in cricket’s biggest extravaganza, Knight was outdone by Kaif during their World Cup fixture against India in the 2003 World Cup. Knight tapped a Javagal Srinath delivery past the non-striker in search of a quick single. His only folly was that he took that chance against Kaif, prowling at extra cover.
Knight was slow off the blocks, ambling across with the hope that he’d reach on time. Before he could ground his bat, Kaif swooped up the ball and threw himself towards the stumps. As he flung himself across, horizontal, he released the ball off his right hand with a low, neat underarm throw. With only one stump to aim, he hit bulls eye. Knight was not even in the frame.
#1 Shoaib Malik’s catch, 2004
There was something electric about the setting at the Karachi stadium for the first match of the India-Pakistan series, India’s first visit to their neighbours in a long while. As if to keep justice to the exalted status of the rivalry, players from both teams played out a classic, a nail-biter that refuses to fade from memory, even twelve years down the line.
Having posted 349, India would have thought they had done their job, but for Inzamam-Ul-Haq, ever India’s thorn, who composed a century and kept things working for Pakistan. With 17 required off the last two overs, and Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan in the middle, Pakistan would have surely fancied their chances.
Facing Zaheer Khan in the penultimate over, Malik tried to go for glory, aiming to clear the infield to get a much-needed boundary. All he managed was slicing the ball high in the air.
Two Indian fielders, Hemang Badani and Mohammad Kaif, converged for the catch. For a moment, it seemed as if the two have made a botch of it, for there was no communication, only two blue blobs speeding towards each other. As Badani shaped up to take the catch, Kaif ran across him, gobbling the ball before Badani could reach, almost colliding with the latter as he held onto the vital catch.
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