TeaIndia’s tour of Ireland, England and Scotland began in a dramatic fashion at Lord’s in 2007. The visiting team would have gone 0-1 down in the Test series if MS Dhoni had not made a heroic effort in the second innings. India managed to save the match by one wicket. The second Test began on 27 July 2007 at Trent Bridge. I happened to be in England attending a conference at my university. As luck would have it, the timing of the match coincided with a workshop organized by the Department of Statistics, University of Leeds. But I had a few days off to join the match.
England batted first and Zaheer Khan took the lead. His first victim was English opener Andrew Strauss. Zaheer’s first delivery to Strauss was a half-volley which was thumped back into the mid-off area by the left-hander for a boundary. The next delivery was over-pitch and looked the same as before. But it went away at the last minute and took the outside edge of Strauss’s bat, and Tendulkar did the rest at slips. Zaheer’s next victim was England captain Michael Vaughan, who was caught by Tendulkar at second slip. It was a delivery just outside the off-stump and the England captain was forced to play on it. His third wicket came with the beauty of a ball that was a near-yorker and Ian Bell fell in front of the wicket. Zaheer’s spell meant England scored less than 200 runs in the first innings.
India’s batting performance in the first innings saw the entire team as a team effort. Five of India’s top six batsmen scored half-centuries and the team’s total was 481.
But while at the crease, a strange incident happened with Zaheer Khan during the innings. When he went to bat he found that jelly beans were thrown at the wicket. Zaheer removed the beans in the presence of the umpire but things got strange when the beans were bowled again. Zaheer was sure that this was done to distract him during his batting. It was the slip cordon that was throwing the beans on the wicket. Zaheer had an altercation with Kevin Pietersen, who denied any involvement. In the end, it was revealed that Ian Bell had thrown the bean on the wicket.
When this happened for the second time, Zaheer Khan was not happy. It was believed that this time Peterson and Cook were the culprits. Anyway, Zaheer was not a happy man. He felt that this was not a joke but a deliberate attempt by the British to control them. There was a lot of verbal exchange between Zaheer and the English fielders.
But Zaheer’s answer in the second innings was telling.
The first to depart was Alastair Cook who got a straight delivery that went into his pads to be leg before wicket. Zaheer’s next wicket was Strauss – caught behind for a distant swinging wide delivery. His third dismissal made a mockery of Michael Vaughan. The ball hit his pads and then somehow rolled and hit the stumps. The best wicket was from Ian Bell. The man who threw the jelly beans had only two deliveries. Zaheer got him plumb before the wicket. This was poetic justice.
It’s been 15 years since that day, but Zaheer’s celebration after Bale’s dismissal is still etched in my memory. As his teammates followed him to celebrate the dismissal, Zaheer happily ran half the length of the field. None of his teammates could catch him. The pacer took nine wickets and the England batsmen had no idea which way the ball was swinging. Sitting on the stand, all this was happening so quickly that I could not even express my happiness at that time.
Watching cricket over the years had made me ‘neutral’ – even when my country played. But something rare happened to India that day. A left-arm pacer helped the team win not only the match but also the series – away from home, in England.
Over the years, one had seen Pakistani left-arm bowlers Salim Jaffer, Azim Hafeez and the great Wasim Akram doing wonders for their team. But for an Indian left-arm fast bowler to do something that Zaheer Khan did in that series, I got a lot of satisfaction. Left-arm fast bowlers are a rare breed, especially in India. Zaheer Khan was the best left arm fast bowler India has ever produced. He had a lovely rhythm to the wicket, which culminated in a lovely leap to the crease at release.
Zaheer Khan took more than 300 Test wickets in his career. He was India’s equal to the great left arm bowlers of Pakistan. Zaheer was lethal with the new ball as he could swing it both ways and was also effective with reverse swing on the old ball. He penetrated the pitches of the subcontinent and could bowl in long and short spells. Most importantly, Zaheer was a handsome bowler to look at, and as his career progressed, he acquired tremendous skills. In the middle of his career, he shortened his run up but enhanced his bowling skills. It was an honor to be present at Trent Bridge, Nottingham and watch Zaheer bowl. The England pacer might have been bowling in his backyard, but he could not match the skills of Zaheer Khan. Zaheer ensured that the jelly beans turn bitter for the English cricket team.
Kush Singh @singhkb is the founder of The Cricket Curry Tour Company. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Choubey)