Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan was elated with Team India’s “dominating victory” over New Zealand in the second and final Test at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai earlier this week, saying the one-sided affair between the two Test giants reminded him of those “good old days”.
The Indian cricket team showed complete dominance at the Wankhede Stadium as the hosts crushed New Zealand by 372 runs to win the final Test and clinch the Test series 1-0 as well.
Zaheer said on BalleBaazi.com: “It was great to see a dominating victory at home, much like the good old days. On the last day of the Test match, with the way the pitch was behaving, it was just a matter of time. Jayant Yadav really impressed me the way he came back with the ball after an ordinary first innings. He surely adds to the template of taking five bowlers into the game, especially when there are more left-handers in the opposition. Moreover, it’s the flow of the new talented players which keeps adding value to the Indian squad.”
He also named Mayank Agarwal (150, 62), Mohammed Siraj (3 wickets), and Ajaz Patel (10, 4 wickets) as his top performers of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Mumbai.
Hailing Mayank for his performance in Mumbai, the former pacer said: “I think Mayank Agarwal is my first choice because he batted at a time when the wicket was doing a bit and his innings in the first half of the Test took the game too far from New Zealand’s grasp.”
He also termed Siraj's spell on Day 2 of the second Test as a “game-changing” one in Mumbai while praising India’s spin trio of Jayant, Akshar Patel, and R Ashwin for their show against the Kiwis.
Zaheer said, “Another game-changing spell was by Siraj when he took three early wickets in his first spell. On a pitch that is assisting only spinners, pulling off a magical wicket like that of Ross Taylor was amazing. It was great to see Siraj playing to his strengths and attacking the three wickets in view.”
He added, “Then, it was our spinners trio that not only added depth to our batting but the way they washed out the tail was great. Ashwin, Axar, and Jayant were spot on.”
The former pacer also heaped praise on Ajaz Patel, who snared 10 wickets in the first innings to etch his name in history books and then returned with another four-wicket in the second innings against India in the second Test at Wankhede Stadium.
Khan said of Patel: “It’s just the stuff of dreams. You don’t see that kind of performance sometimes in a lifetime, and it was great to see how he bowled long spells endlessly.”
He added, “Yes, he was tiring a bit but every time he took a wicket, you could see his body language change and he came back with a string of 1 or 2 more wickets. It was a pleasure to witness the way he bowled and took 10 wickets. In the 2nd innings too, he was causing trouble and got 4 good wickets.”
On being asked about Ashwin’s consistency and whether he will surpass Anil Kumble, Zaheer said: “Ashwin has created a league of his own and he is also in the white-ball team because of which he is in a great space. Every time he has the ball in his hand, you know he will pull off some trick and make the batsman come on the front foot if he’s playing backfoot and vice-versa. He’s got the time to achieve the feat and with this consistency, it would be appropriate that he becomes the kind of bowler who can perhaps surpass the great Anil Kumble”
Analyzing New Zealand’s performance in the Test series, he said: “I think they were just a bit too dependent on the bowling and on Ajaz Patel. Kyle Jamieson did have an off day but even when you look at Southee, there was not much he could produce as far as wickets were concerned.”
Zaheer signed off by saying, “The batting was pretty much ordinary throughout the game except for Daryl Mitchell and Will Young and maybe just a bit the way Nicholls was batting. The intent was there but again against the spinners the Kiwis looked clueless.”
(With IANS Inputs)
