Kaif too joins the party

Just the other day, he was at the travel desk of India8217;s St Lucia hotel, sweet-talking a staffer to arrange a free bus ride for his team to catch a boat cruise around the island.

Just the other day, he was at the travel desk of India8217;s St Lucia hotel, sweet-talking a staffer to arrange a free bus ride for his team to catch a boat cruise around the island. Always the always-man, that8217;s Mohammed Kaif for you 8212; even if he has not always got the opportunity to do his precious bit in Test cricket since his debut six years ago.

Caught in the chasm between one-day Internationals and five-dayers, between four bowlers and five, between VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh, the 25-year-old finally got a chance to squeeze back into the frame last season. Today, there he was, celebrating his first Test century with a huge wave to the dressing room, a hug from MS Dhoni, a touch of the talisman around his neck, and a quick thanksgiving prayer.

Touted as the team8217;s next big middle-order bat in 2000, tagged soon as a one-day wonder, then a fielder and finally as the first of India8217;s GenNext 8212; much before Dhoni, Suresh Raina and the rest of them 8212; Kaif had finally made some sense of a bizarre career graph. Maybe now, these numbers will finally start balancing out: 11 Tests in six years, 118 ODIs in four.

Actually, the story of Kaif8217;s Test life starts from the second chapter, after the Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell combination took over. Although he made his debut under Sourav Ganguly against South Africa, he has always had a special corner in his mind for Dravid. It8217;s a faith that has been repaid with his first consistent run in the longer version.

This time, in the West Indies, with India going with four bowlers to battle the slow tracks, Kaif got a chance to play two straight Tests after two years. And he grabbed it with both hands and a smile. The result? It was obvious in Antigua, where he kept MS Dhoni company in the second innings with an unbeaten 46, but it hit your face here with a series of superbly timed drives through covers, square off the wicket, more backfoot punches and the trademark pull.

In the middle of a very placid pitch, but a very, very important tour, Kaif smashed 10 fours to reach his hundred with a swing to midwicket off Ramnaresh Sarwan, after keeping up with skipper Dravid8217;s 234-ball 146 16 fours in a 179-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

In the process, he not only pumped more air into India8217;s soaring hopes in this Test match 8212; they were 584 for seven at tea, with the ball beginning to misbehave 8212; but also came up with a huge question mark for the team management, if they opt for five bowlers in this series again.

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And yes, if he does manage to reserve his seat in this theatre, there will be another golden moment that he would like the thinktank to consider some time in the future: on February 2, he led Uttar Pradesh to their first Ranji win in 72 years.