The Indian Cricket team has seen a lot of changes and modernization over the last few years. The current team has a well-balanced combination of experienced batsmen and skilled bowlers. But the situation was not always the same. There was a time when India lacked the support of lethal pacers. For nearly a decade, Zaheer Khan led the inexperienced pace attack. Popularly known as ZAK, Zaheer won his side several matches single-handedly. When India was known for its batting strength, Zaheer was the lone pacer who used to clock the speed of over 145 km/h during his spells. Since his debut, Zaheer Khan gained popularity with his inswinging yorkers and reverse swing. In very little time, ZAK became the go-to bowler for his captain.
Here are the top 5 spells bowled by the former Indian pacer
1. 4 for 59 and 5 for 75 against England in July 2007: The English pitches used to be a nightmare for Indian batsmen and the pierce England pacers added to their misery. But, Zaheer gave them a taste of their own medicine in July 2007 at Trent Bridge. Zaheer saved the match for India by restricting the England team in their home ground to a modest total of 198 in the first innings. Zaheer took 4 wickets. He came back even stronger in the second innings and bagged 5 wickets while ripping through the defenses of English batsmen. Zaheer was adjudged man of the match and Indian went on to win the match as well as the series.
2. 3 for 62 against England in July 2002: Defeating England in the iconic Lord’s, the Home of Cricket, is always special. The iconic match that lasted with a wild shirtless celebration by skipper Sourav Ganguly started with Zaheer’s magical spell. Zaheer picked his first wicket in the form of opener Nick Knight. He then bagged the wicket of dangerous Andrew Flintoff who scored 40 runs off just 31 balls. Zaheer took 3 wickets after giving away 62 runs and his spell restricted England’s total at 325. Later in the match, Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh’s heroic performances helped India to get the victory. Zaheer himself hit the winning runs.
3. 4 for 42 against New Zealand in March 2003: This was the match that announced India’s arrival as a strong contender in the 2003 World Cup. A young Zaheer made sure that the kiwis weren’t able to score freely. Zaheer bagged four wickets after giving away just 42 runs. It was one of the most striking spells by ZAK in that tournament. New Zealand was reduced for a low total of 146 runs which was not a match-winning total by any standards. India managed to chase down the low total of 146 runs in just 41 overs winning the super sixes face-off comfortably.
4. 5 for 42 against Sri Lanka in February 2007: Sri Lanka has been one of the keys preys of Zaheer Khan. Zaheer managed to bag the only fifer of his career in Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 2006-07. Zaheer started with the wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya and went on to bag the wickets of Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Sri Lanka was reduced to a low total of 230 runs with the help of Zaheer’s fifer. The Indian pacer was adjudged man-of-the-match after the game.
5. 3 for 26 against West Indies in March 2011: Zaheer and World Cups were used to be friendly affairs. The 2011 ICC World Cup that India went on to win was due to a well-contributed team effort and Zaheer was a key contributor to it. Zaheer’s one of the best spells came out in the World Cup match against West Indies. India came out to bat first and managed to put up a score of 268 runs on the scoreboard. West Indies started their inning in an attacking manner. But, Zaheer managed to break the opening stand of 34 runs. He then scalped the wickets of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Sulieman Benn. He also sent back dangerous Devon Smith leading his side to an 80-run victory.
