One of the high points of Indian cricket in 2007 was winning a Test series in England after 21 years. But the celebrations then were cut short as Rahul Dravid relinquished his leadership immediately upon returning to the country, and the whole attention was diverted to the captaincy muddle.

On Monday, as Zaheer Khan was presented the first copy of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2008 for being one of the five Wisden cricketers of the year for his performance in the series, the memories of the historical tour came rushing back.

His 18 wickets in the three Tests, highest in the series, had inspired India’s victory. “It’s always nice to have him in the side. I know I could throw the ball to him any time and he would deliver. At Trent Bridge (2nd Test), England were doing well in the second innings with (Michael) Vaughan and (Paul) Collingwood at the crease. I gave him the ball, and he returned to take quick wickets in the spell. He delivered at every instance. So this (Wisden cricketer of the year) is a truly deserved one,” said Dravid, who presented the copy to Zaheer.

Jelly bean motivation

As he had revealed then, some jelly beans were thrown on the wicket while Khan was batting, which had “charged me up”. After that, while bowling, he took five wickets in the second innings and completed his match figures of 9/134, thereby leading India to victory in the Test. “Well, jelly beans inspired me a bit. But not to the extent that it would have any bearing on the result of the match. I was actually focused on my game. In the first match at Lord’s, I was a bit nervous, but once I found my rhythm, I never looked back,” said Zaheer.

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