Mohammad Kaif

Age

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Matches

138

Batting Style

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Bowling Style

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Not so long ago, there was a time in Indian cricket where the loss of wickets at the top of the order meant a defeat in the game. On top of that, Indian teams of the old were notoriously famous for choking in the finals. All of this changed when a lanky rookie batsman from Allahabad took on the English bowling attack on a memorable day at Lord’s in 2002 and led the Indian team to victory after chasing down 326 runs. Mohammed Kaif was that lanky rookie. His knock of 87 runs changed the course of Indian cricket. Kaif first came into the limelight with his performances for the U-19 team. He was the captain of the team that won the U-19 World Cup in 2000. He made his international debut in a Test match against South Africa in 2000. His ODI debut came against England in 2002. His inconsistency with the bat meant that he only played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs. He was also an outstanding fielder, the ilk of which the Indian team was not used to until then. His stint with the national team ended in 2006.