Hitting Akhtar must be easy: Kaif's son tells him

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New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) While many in the cricket fraternity, including former players, believe it was not a pleasant experience facing Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar in their playing days, Mohammad Kaifs son feels otherwise.

According to Kaif's son Kabir, Akhtar's sheer pace would have instead made it easier for batsmen to score runs.

The highlights of the epic 2003 World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan played at Centurion were broadcast on Tuesday which Kaif also watched with his son.

"Thanks to Star Sports India, finally Kabir gets to relive that historic India vs Pakistan game.

"But junior isn't too impressed with Papa, says hitting Shoaib Akhtar must be easy since there is pace in his bowling. Kids today I tell you...phew!" Kaif wrote on Twitter with a clip of his son's explanation as they watched the highlights of one of the greatest ODI matches.

In that match played on March 1, 2003, Pakistan opted to bat and scored a posted 273/7 in their alloted 50 overs.

After the resumption of proceedings, the Indian opening duo, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, launched a blitzkrieg against the Pakistani attack as they made 50 runs in 32 balls within the first 25 minutes.

After Sehwag's dismissal, the Pakistani bowlers tried everything in their arsenal to send Tendulkar back to the pavilion but the Master Blaster was at his sublime best as he scored boundaries all around the park, including the famous upper cut against Akhtar which still remains intact in memories of cricket fans.

Kaif made 35 from 60 balls in that match and stitched a 102-run partnership before Tendulkar before the latter fell just two runs short of a historic ton.

Following the dismissals of Kaif and Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid added a 99-run stand as India won the match with six wickets in hand.

--IANS

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