Dhaka, Jan. 27: Off the field Zaheer Khan, gives very few hints of the sort of fierceness he is capable of when wearing a cricketer’s whites. He is an amiable sort of fellow, always ready with a smile. Put a ball his hand, however, you had better be prepared to get out of the way in a hurry.
Not only has he become the Indian spearhead, he is also a guru of sorts for his younger colleagues. A big reason is that Zaheer leads by example. And in the course of this two-Test series here, he could not have set a better example on the unhelpful tracks both at Chittagong and then here at Dhaka.
Speaking after India had wrapped up the game minutes into the second session of the fourth day at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium here on Wednesday, Zaheer said he was pleased at his pace of recovery from a shoulder problem last year.
The left-arm quick ended the series with 15 wickets at a cost of 293 runs. In the second innings he returned with a career-best 7/87 for match figures of 10/149, also a personal best, and he said, “I am happy as it is my first 10 wickets in a Test. I am in a zone where I am relaxed and my body and mind are in sync.”
Zaheer pointed out that his time on the sidelines after surgery last year had helped gain focus. “A lot of things in bowling comes from experience. I started late in my career and was out of the side due to injuries.
“But I think the injuries helped me work harder on my bowling. I was fortunate that I got time to work on aspects of my game before coming back.
“I still have a long way to go on my fitness. But to get back from injury and bowl well is satisfying. I have started the season on a positive note and I am looking forward. The South Africa series is an important one and I am looking forward to doing well,” he added.
Though the Tigers mounted a spirited fightback on Day Three and for part of the fourth day, Zaheer said they knew they were in with a chance once they got the breakthrough.
“It was more to do with the nature of the wicket. It was quite slow yesterday. They batted well and took their chances. As bowlers we had to be patient.
“When we got the first two wickets, we knew that we had a chance. In the last 20 minutes yesterday the ball was reverse swinging. We thought we could take wickets this morning and we did,” he said.
“The pitch was slow and low throughout and there was nothing much in it for the spinners. So I am happy that the pacers shared the wickets. At Chittagong too, we had to put in a collective effort as a bowling unit.”
Zaheer agreed they were surprised at how quickly Bangladesh collapsed, “I was surprised at their collapse. They could have applied themselves more. But these are early days in Test cricket for them and they will learn.
“But Bangladesh will take away a lot of confidence from their batting in this Test,” he added.
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