Kaif's down but not out

In the summer of 2002, when Mohammad Kaif chased down a record 325 against England in the NatWest final at Lord's, it seemed there was no turning back. But overlooked in recent years, he wonders why he never got the chance to make a comeback. Kunal Pradhan of the Sunday Express catches up with the batsman.

In one such chase against Pakistan in 2004, Kaif and Rahul Dravid had a long partnership to take India from 162 for five, to 294 and victory. In the middle of that knock, Kaif played a shot that split his bat in two. After the game, Dravid had the pieces of Kaif's broken bat collected, scribbled a `thank you' note and gifted them to him. The pieces still lie in Kaif's trophy cabinet, along with the five man-of-the-match awards in 125 ODIs.