Birthday special: Zaheer Khan – Top 3 performances in international cricket
India’s search for a match-winning left-arm pacer ended in 2000 when a young Zaheer Khan burst onto the scene for the Asian giants. Zaheer Khan caught the eye of the Indian selectors after a string of impressive performances in the domestic circuit. The left-arm pacer became a stalwart of the Indian for more than a decade with the 2011 World Cup being his crowning moment. India won their second World Cup title in 2011 on the back of his 21 wickets in just nine matches, the joint-highest in the tournament. He also introduced a new variation of slower delivery, known as the ‘knuckle ball’ in the ICC event. On the Indian legend’s 45th birthday, here are some of his most memorable outings for the Indian team.
5/42 against Sri Lanka, 2007
India squared off against Sri Lanka in the 3rd ODI of the four-match series with hopes of levelling the series. The visitors batted first in the match but found a familiar foe in Zaheer Khan who wrecked their top order, accounting for three of their top four batters. Zaheer, who loved bowling to left-handed batters, got rid of three world-class southpaws in his opening spell, as he returned with impressive bowling figures of 5/42, restricting the islanders to just 230 runs. He was named the player of the match as India won the match by five wickets.
4/19 against Bangladesh, 2003
Dhaka hosted Bangladesh and India for the first match of the TVS Cup in 2003. India won the toss and opted to bat first in the series opener. The Men in Blue were off to a decent start but fell behind in the game after a flurry of wickets in the middle overs. But a young Yuvraj Singh took it upon himself to take India to a competitive total as the visitors finished with 276 runs on the board on the back of Yuvraj’s trailblazing century. Bangladesh’s chase was off to an unceremonious start as Zaheer Khan and Aavishkar Salvi wreaked havoc with the new ball, with the former returning with impeccable bowling figures of 4/19.
7/87 against Bangladesh, 2010
India travelled to Dhaka for the second Test against hosts Bangladesh in 2010. The visitors put in the home side to bat first after winning the toss. The Indian bowlers restricted the hosts to a mediocre total of 233 runs on the back of a three-wicket haul from Zaheer Khan. India in their reply posted a mammoth total of 544 runs thanks to centuries from Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Bangladesh’s hopes of an unlikely result were extinguished by Zaheer Khan, who terrorized the batters with impeccable bowling figures of 7/87. He was named the player of the match for his ten wickets in the match as India won the match by ten wickets.
