It would not be wrong to say that Zaheer Khan triggered India's victory charge in Durban with a superb spell with the ball as they crushed South Africa by 87 runs in the second Test to level the series at 1-1.
Zaheer not only claimed six wickets (6 for 93) in the match but also inspired the other bowlers to raise their level.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was lavish in his praise of Zaheer after the victory.
"I have always maintained that Zaheer has been the best fast bowler that India have had in recent times. He has the ability to execute his plans well. Even if his primary plan doesn't work out, he has a Plan B ready. Also him being around, even the other bowlers get a lot of help."
The captain also had words of praise for his senior-most bowler Harbhajan Singh, who also has been a major contributor in India's victories in the last two years.
"Harbhajan has been a great performer for India over last 10 years. It's always great to have him in the side. He did a great job as he bowled long spells from one end as the fast bowlers weren't getting much help from that end," Dhoni said.
India's most successful bowlers in Test wins since 01-01-2009
|
Mts |
Wkts |
Best |
Avg |
SR |
5WI |
10WM | |
|
Harbhajan Singh |
9 |
49 |
6-63 |
25.91 |
59.43 |
2 |
0 |
|
Zaheer Khan |
9 |
48 |
7-87 |
24.47 |
40.71 |
3 |
1 |
|
Pragyan Ojha |
7 |
34 |
4-115 |
31.20 |
65.18 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ishant Sharma |
8 |
31 |
4-43 |
27.87 |
48.55 |
0 |
0 |
|
S Sreesanth |
6 |
18 |
5-75 |
34.11 |
53.78 |
1 |
0 |
|
Amit Mishra |
3 |
15 |
4-92 |
32.86 |
63.60 |
0 |
0 |
