Bengaluru, Feb 27: India’s strike bowler Zaheer Khan brought India back into the oscillating game against England picking up the key wickets of Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell. Steering India away from the path to defeat, Zaheer’s three-wicket spell almost drove India to victory.
The relieved bowler spoke to the media about the high-pressure game minutes after it ended in a tie.
Excerpts from the interaction
On the thrilling game
It was a tied game - that explains everything. I felt that [it] got better later on and [Andrew] Strauss obviously batted damn well. They put pressure on us and it was a cliffhanger till the end. So it was a great game of cricket.
On what it felt like to have earned the tie
Well, [we] always knew that 340 [were] big enough runs to be in the game till the last over so obviously I [wanted] the Indian team to win and felt we would win the game easily. But I guess it was a closely contested [game] between bat and ball.
On India’s precarious position while Andrew Strauss was at the crease
Yeah, I mean the Powerplay is something which can go either way. We needed to pick wickets - we got wickets in quick succession, you know. That’s what helped us get back in the game.
On having found his rhythm
Yeah, [I’m] feeling good now.
On the positives the team can take from the tied game
They are clicking as a batting unit. [In the] bowling department a few things here and there [we] need to pick up, which we will. It’s a long tournament, you know. I am not really worried about [the result]. Yes, a win would have helped here but a tie is also a good thing for the team. We have got some points out of this game.
