SK Flashback: Zaheer Khan's 5-wicket haul bowled New Zealand out for 94 on December 19, 2002
India’s tour to New Zealand in 2002/03 was a very crucial one as that was the last series before the 2003 World Cup. India were to play two Tests followed by seven ODIs against the Kiwis before travelling to South Africa for the coveted tournament that began less than a month after the completion of the trip.
The pitches in the series assisted the pacers as a green top was presented every time the Indians stepped on the field. As a result, the batsmen failed miserably and the fast bowlers had a wonderful time on every occasion.
Zaheer Khan was a name in Indian cricket whose reputation as a premier swing bowler was raising since his debut in the year 2000. He had pace, he could swing both the new and the old balls and hence, he was the only bowler from India that tasted success in conditions conducive for swing bowling.
A poor start to the tour
The first Test at Wellington saw the Indian batsmen surrendering to the quickies of New Zealand with the likes of Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey at their peak. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were the only ones who went past fifties in the game.
India lost the Test by 10 wickets but despite the loss, the shining point for them was the first ever fifer in Test cricket for Zaheer. He had figures of 53/5 in 25 overs that troubled the Kiwi batsmen somewhat.
The second Test was played at Seddon Park in Hamilton and once more, a green surface was on offer. Batting first, India were bundled out for just 99 runs with VVS Laxman the highest scorer with 23 runs. Bond and Tuffey picked up 4 wickets a piece.
Zaheer’s counter attack
After a dismal performance from the batsmen, the onus was on the bowlers to keep India in the game. There was still plenty up for grabs from the surface and the then 24-year-old Zaheer turned up with one of the most memorable bowling spells by any fast bowler from the country.
In the 7th over of the innings, he bowled one on the perfect good length that swung away from the batsman, Lou Vincent, and he was invited into driving the ball but only managed to edge it to Rahul Dravid at first slip. It was the start of something special from the left-handed fast bowler.
7 overs later, the left-handed Mark Richardson was found shouldering arms to a straight delivery from Zaheer and the ball struck him on the pads right in front of the stumps. The umpire had no doubts in raising his finger and gave Zaheer his second wicket. A partnership of 32 runs was broken, which had shown ominous signs for India.
Next, it was the turn of Kiwi skipper, Stephen Fleming, to fall for the guile of the Indian bowler. Zaheer bowled one very full towards the middle stump and the ball moved away from the batsman ever so late. Fleming who looked to flick the ball towards mid-wicket was foxed by the late movement and chipped it straight back to the bowler who made no mistake in catching it. The home side were left reeling at 60/5 at that point.
After a while, Zaheer returned to bag his 4th wicket; this time, it was tail-ender, Robert Hart, who was trapped in front to a perfect in-swinger from the bowler. New Zealand had reached just 79 runs with only two wickets remaining. Their chances of gaining a lead over India were diminishing with each blow.
Daniel Vettori was his next victim as he poked at a delivery slightly back of a length that gave an easy catch to Laxman at second slip. New Zealand were dismissed for just 94 runs and India had gained a slender lead of 5 runs over them.
It was the second five-wicket haul for the Indian pacer in Test cricket, and he had pulled his team back into the game with a supreme effort. The former Baroda and Mumbai bowler finished with amazing figures of 29/5 in 13.2 overs with 4 maidens.
A not so fairy tale
After a commanding bowling performance, it was up to the batsmen to drive home the advantage. But, it was the same story as before as the Kiwi pacers again got the better of the Indian batsmen and halted the innings to a score of 154.
A target of 160 runs was given to the home side; the target was a tricky one considering the previous 3 innings in the game. The Indian bowlers toiled hard to restrict them but the Kiwi batsmen edged past the line and handed the team a victory by 4 wickets, which meant that they had enforced a clean sweep over India in the 2-Test series.
Zaheer was the leading wicket taker for India with 11 wickets in 2 Tests and the 4th highest overall. The two fifers in two Tests meant that India had found a bowler who could take advantage of the pace-friendly conditions overseas.
After being comprehensively defeated in the Test series, India suffered a loss in the ODI series as well. The 7-ODIs series was won by a margin of 5-2 by the home side. Zaheer had a decent outing here as well picking up 10 wickets in the series.
The pitches in the country were criticised hugely by the cricketing fraternity as none of the batsmen were able to spend time at the crease. The bright spot for India despite the poor performances was the showing of Zaheer Khan, who went on to become one of the most successful bowlers in the country.