When Zaheer Khan's Heroics Shifted World Cup 2011 In India's Favour

image-lng0bz3iZaheer Khan was the joint highest wicket-taker in WC 2011 (x.com)

Zaheer Khan's contribution will for the longest time be remembered for his unwavering consistency, unflinching line and length and that very evident determination to contribute to the team's cause.

In a game that often stands out for individual contributions, Zak, as he's still famously called, carved a place for himself for committed contributions to the team.

He led pace attacks and did so with rich aplomb; an effort that in the times of Sachin that so often felt like a lonely cause. 


In an era where batsmen weren't called batters and where free hits hadn't become a thing of recurrence, Zaheer Khan emerged as a symbol of consistency.

Always graceful off the pitch and respectful of opponents on it despite embracing aggressive moments, Zaheer Khan reserved some of his biggest successes for the World Cup. 

It’s where he truly came alive. 

It could be argued that the Shrirampur, Maharashtra -born fast bowler became a deliverer of express success to his country when most badly needed. 

Where else would you rather go other than Khan’s peerless fast bowling that stemmed from the desire of varying lines whilst not always depending solely on hitting the deck hard? 

In scripting one of his most fascinating moments, the man who’s just turned 45 but looks no more than 32, truth be told, Zaheer Khan fuelled India’s hunger to nail the 2011 World Cup campaign. 

In the very campaign still largely remembered for Dhoni, the legend, finishing things off in style, it was Zaheer Khan who sowed the seeds for India’s success nailing the fast bowling cauldron. 

While he finished his last ever World Cup match with that epic spell of 10 overs at sixty runs and took two crucial wickets whilst also bowling 3 maiden overs, a feat largely forgotten, his initiation into the World Cup wasn’t any less significant. 

In the opening game of the tournament, still considered spellbinding given its impact on Indian cricket, Zaheer Khan began with a fine 2-for against Bangladesh. 

In his full spell of 10 overs, the thinking left arm quickie conceded just 40 runs whilst removing noted batsmen like Mushfiqur and Abdur Razzaq. 

Those were still days where blind hitting wasn’t entirely on its way on and where daunting lads sporting heavy bats could nail you down. 

That’s not to mention some sublime strokemakers that didn’t really had to depend on muscles to show you the way to the fence. Think Amla. Think Mahela. 

Moreover, also consider that the likes of Watson, Clarke, Gayle, Dilshan and the evergreen Sangakkara were around and very much at their peak. 

And then, the threatening AB de Villiers. 

Just some of the batters that one of India’s most resourceful and attacking bowlers excelled against. 

That said, it was the trinity of 3-for’s from Khan’s end that ensured batsmen couldn’t run away with anything, be it those from Ireland, The Netherlands or even, the West Indies. 

In games where his then colleagues, Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan struck early, such as the contest against the Dutch, Zaheer Khan dismantled the lower order. 

To this day, his cleaning up of Mudassar Bukhari of The Netherlands at Delhi and that plumb-in-front of Bas Zuiderent stand as some of the most under-appreciated dismissals from the 2011 campaign. 

However, in the game against the Caribbean dashers, which at one point, was really going the visitors’ way came to be impacted by Zaheer’s exceptional control over line and unwavering pace. 

It may not have been all that daunting to chase down 269 after all given Devon Smith coupled with contributions from Sarwan and Darren Bravo, was looking solid with his 81. 

But in came Khan in the middle overs to rattle the stumps of a batsman well set to take his team home, a narrative in the end, that hardly ever came to life. 

Not that Sarwan, the famous Guyanese associated with fighting spirit was let out easily; Khan would claim that last big wicket too. 

On the whole, one of India’s finest assets in the realm of fast bowling ended the 2011 World Cup campaign with 20 wickets at a miser than miserly average of 18. His economy, despite playing no fewer than 9 games was well under 5. 

In today’s fast paced era where the game so often looks like a byproduct of entertainment, such an impressive economy would feel unreal. Would it not? 

But for all he accomplished and with much sincerity, Zaheer Khan was quite unreal wasn’t it; aggressive yet decent; calculating and yet, adventurous. 

The yorkers are still missed just as the slower off cutters, and that clean high arm action. 

Oh, that era. Happy bday, Zak!