Ashish Nehra said that he was confident that Mohammad Kaif (L) and Zaheer Khan would win it for India and he wouldn't had to come to bat © Getty Images
By CricketCountry Staff
Mumbai: Jul 17, 2012
Ashish Nehra admitted that he was nervous when India chased down a target of 326 against England at Lord’s in the NatWest Series final. He was the last batsman to come out to bat but Mohammad Kaif and Zaheer Khan made sure he didn’t have to face the challenge.
“It was a very tense situation. I was very nervous, but was also prepared for the challenge. I was positive about winning the game.” Nehra recounted.
On July 13, 2002, Sourav Ganguly-led Indian team won the NatWest series final with two wickets and three balls to spare. India was trailing by 180 runs with four wickets remaining, after the English bowlers toppled the star-studded Indian batting line-up.
Young guns Yuvraj Singh and Kaif added an important 121 runs for the sixth. However, Andrew Flintoff took the game back in England’s favour when he dismissed Yuvraj. The visitors needed 11 runs from two overs. In the end, Zaheer hit the winning runs.
Nehra who was about to come next remembered the tense moments he spent in the dressing room.
“I knew my chance to bat wouldn’t come because I was confident they (Kaif and Zaheer) will win it for us. Yuvraj and Kaif gave us the belief that we can chase this total. It doesn’t matter whether I was in the middle or no. It was a great win,” Nehra was quoted as saying by the MiD-DAY.
