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Zaheer swung his
way through! |
Link to
2nd Test
Scorecard
 Before
the start of every overseas tour of India,
critics ink their pens to instruct Indian
bowlers to inspire and gather a blow to topple
the opposition. There is nothing new in that at
all. But the way Zaheer bowled his heart out on
the first morning of the Second Test Match was
not only new but inspirational as well for
several Indian new ball bowlers. Swinging the
ball both ways, making the ball talk from coming
round the wicket, well-executed bouncers from
uncomfortable length and instigating edges on
any other delivery bowled were the
characteristics that we denote with only one
other left-arm swing bowler -
Wasim Akram but
Zaheer done all of that to relive the memory of
the greatest left-arm bowler of cricket history.
It is an unanimous decision that Wasim is
incomparable, but I dare to state that on the
fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test, Zaheer was
comparable.
If other
Indian bowlers shared slightest of Zaheer’s
burden on the fourth day of the test match then
India could have easily wrapped up the game with
an innings victory. His nine wicket haul was
just the show of the craft which he polished
while playing county cricket. Indian cricket has
been notorious for not taking enough care of
their fast bowlers. The list is long and painful
filled with the names of Pathan, Nehra, Balaji,
and to an extent Agarkar. All earned their
places in the side, but lost it one after
another. Zaheer first shone on the scene as a
definite soul with an urge to make a name for
himself when he stormed his way through his
lethal yorkers jamming and zeroing in on middle
stumps most of the time. With his presence in
the Indian side, the team looked apart because
of his ability to change the course of the game
with his late in-dipping toe-crushing torrents.
But with
the influx of young bowlers sidelined him which
in one way or other made him more determined and
keen to gain more insight into his game and body
which prompted him to shed some extra kilos and
learn some tricks to make the new ball talk. His
stint in county cricket gave him plethora of
experience to bowl in varied conditions both
with the new and old ball. Now after this
memorable victory against a formidable English
side can enlist him as a spearhead of Indian
bowling. In recent times Agarkar, Sreesanth,
Pathan and now Zaheer all won Test matches
single-handedly for India which was a rare
feature in past generations of Indian fast
bowlers. It is high time now for Indian Nation
to give bowlers equal pedestal to stand on with
the batsmen because now this current Indian lot
of fast bowlers are making it happen for their
team.
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