Mohammad Kaif thought NatWest 2002 final was lost when Yuvraj Singh got out

Bengaluru, April 21: Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif believed the famous NatWest Series final in 2002 was lost when Yuvraj Singh got out against England chasing a target of 326 at Lord's.

India defied the odds to win the final by two wickets with three balls to spare riding on Yuvraj and Kaif's sixth-wicket stand of 121 runs.

Sourav Ganguly-led side were reeling at 146/5, when the pair joined hands for a match-changing partnership. But, the pressure came back when Yuvraj was dismissed in the 42nd over for 69, with India still needing 59 for victory and four wickets in hand.

Kaif, however didn't give up and scored an unbeaten 87 to take India home with Zaheer Khan at the other end for a historic win.

"When you (Yuvraj) got out, I thought the match is gone. I did not think we will win," Kaif said in an Instagram Live chat with Yuvraj.

"I was set, you were there. So I believed if we played till the end India win will. But you got out and India lost hope and my heart broke," Kaif added.

The victory, also remembered for Ganguly's shirt removal celebration in the Lord's balcony, which changed Indian cricket forever in ways more than one.

Kaif also picked Yuvraj's 25-ball 58 against Australia in the 2000 U-19 World Cup where the former was the captain as one of his best knocks.

"That innings, the way you dominated the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson was amazing. You have many superb knocks, you hit six sixes...but to me at the U-19 level to see someone bat like that...was special. We all knew you will go far and play for a long time," Kaif said.

Meanwhile, India great Sachin Tendulkar recalled a hilarious incident which ended up with Kaif getting a new nickname.

Tendulkar stated that Kaif was giving his all in the field during the Road Safety World Series and that prompted others to caution him.

"We had to tell Kaif to be cautious. We nicknamed him 'bhai sahab, bhai sahab, thoda sambhalke.' It's the first match of the tournament and there are a lot of matches to be played," Tendulkar said in a video uploaded on YouTube.

"What if you pull a hamstring or something. It (diving and fielding quickly) comes naturally to him. He thinks if you are fit, you continue doing those things. He was a really fit guy. He was an outstanding fielder in team," he added.

Kaif and Yuvraj were regarded as one of the finest fielders ever to don the iconic blue jersey. The duo marshalled the cover-point area in an era where fielding wasn't Team India's strongest suit.

Rated as one of the best fielders in India, Kaif said he worked on his fielding as he wanted to stand out in one of the departments.

"I always wanted to be different and I wanted to focus on fielding. I worked really hard on my fielding."

Yuvraj, who was also a livewire himself, added that he and Kaif changed the momentum for India on the field during those days.

"At point and cover we changed the momentum in a lot of ways. Now the team has so many good fielders but I feel we changed the momentum," said Yuvraj.

(With Agency inputs)