Zaheer Khan has scored ‘The Greatest Duck' ever in Indian Cricket History.
Believe me, in my opinion, it is absolutely true.
I always get thrilled about recalling The Kolkata test, 2001. Laxman's once-in-a-generation innings of 281, Harbhajan making a ferocious batting line-up dance on his tune, Dada offering the ball to Sachin and Gilchrist getting perished on duck, 70–80 thousand Indians cheering in madness and making Eden Garden a canvas for Indian team to paint one of the greatest cricketing-picture ever.
A lifetime memory for every Indian Cricket fan.
The entire cricketing world welcomed and appreciated this Indian win over a team that hadn't had a taste of defeat in years.
After being asked to follow-on, Team India broke Aussies' world record winning streak in the most phenomenal way one could imagine.
Series just got evenly poised with 1–1 and no one could wait for the final show.
Chennai Test, 2001.
In matter of a week, the entire environment had been changed. Everyone connected to this sport, every media house was in full praise of this new looking Indian team. At the same time, no one denied the fact that Australian team had every chance to bounce back, seal the series and put the Indian's enthusiasm to rest.
Steve Waugh won the toss and decided to bat first. It looked a pretty good decision till they were on 340–3. Once Steve himself got out, Bhajji finished them in hurry. Last seven wickets fell for only 51. Apart from all individual glories from Indian side, it was a series of Mathew Hayden's exceptional batting display, who was once again at his very best and scored 203 out of Aussies' 391.
Team India looked quite confident in the reply. Five batsmen out of top six scored 50+. Everyone of them were rock solid, especially Sachin Tendulkar, who forgot his Kolkata-batting-debacle and played a gem of an innings of 126. The temperament and technique of the Master was heartening. India made 501.
Pitch was still very much bat-able, but Harbhajan was simply unplayable. Yet again. This time he produced his best performance ever and grabbed 8 wickets. Australians were folded for 264.
155.
That was number for Indians to chase down and make history. They began the series as underdogs against an invincible bunch of travellers and here they were, standing 155 runs away from the glory. They looked cruising to the target when Laxman and Sachin were smashing all around and score reached to 101–2.
Chennai was dancing. The entire India was jubilant. 54 runs was more to deal with 8 wickets in hand.
A straight forward win looked inevitable and there happened something which Australian was so famous for. They turned the tide before anybody could even realize. The moment VVS pulled a half tracker straight to the man patrolling Mid-wicket, Mark Waugh, the entire euphoric environment turned into utter disbelief. Laxman was stunned. So was every Indian fan.
135–6. 20 runs yet to get.
3 deliveries later Sairaj Bahutule fell and it became 135–7. They had totally messed it up.
101–2 to 135–7. Who would have imagined? These Australians were unbelievably well in pulling the game in their favor out of nowhere, and they were right on course here in Chennai as well. 20 runs seemed like 200 with a few inexperienced tailenders left. Not-proven-reliable Samir Dighe was standing on the other end. Indian dressing room looked full of nervousness, anxiety and devastation.
Things were quite gloomy for Indians and In-walked Zaheer Khan. On the other side, Steve Waugh continued with his two of very best, Glen McGrath and Jason Gillespie.
Surrounded by 5–6 closed fielders, against some of the best bowlers in the world, it was a huge task for a speedster, who was only a few months old in international test Cricket standing out there with a piece of wood in his hand.
McGrath and Gillespie treated him in the way they usually do to tailenders, but Zaheer was right into watching each delivery using all of the batting skills he'd got. He left when they expected him to edge. He brought his bat forward inelegantly but effectively against deliveries directed towards his stumps. Indians’ heartbeats skipped for every single time he took strike, and as soon as he defied the each blow he faced, we fans exhaled in relief.
He fought for 13 deliveries. It bought enough time and safety for Samir Dighe to do his job by stealing some runs for him and his team. He was also living on the edge but he happened to manage a few boundaries somehow. By the time Zaheer Khan's resistance denied another wicket fall, Dighe scored 16 runs. 16 runs of pure Gold.
India reached to 151. They were now only four runs away from a win which later changed Indian Cricket forever. Facing his 14th delivery off McGrath, Zaheer couldn't avoid the ball kissing his bat and ending up in the slip cordon, but he had done what was required. India was in a complete danger when he walked in. Those 15–20 minutes of play was breathtaking piece of Cricket and Zaheer Khan did a huge favor to Indian Cricket despite scoring Duck.
Man of the series, Harbhajan Singh, hit the winning run to seal the test and series by 2 wickets and a new Indian Cricketing-era began.
You know, sometimes in real life, you are zero. You do nothing. You just hang there, producing nothing valuable or, you could say, quantifiable. But years later you realize that those-not-doing-productive days were actually significant. Not doing anything was itself productive because it allowed many things around you happen to you, or for you, which mattered in so many ways.
Zaheer Khan's “0” was exactly that kind of innings. He couldn't get a run for himself or his team. But the duration of time he stood there for, under the pressure of such high stake chase, was priceless. His idle-stay for 14 deliveries enabled many things happen around him which proved to be indispensable for India's successful pursuit at the end.
At the very end of an exceptional series, which witnessed some exhilarating Cricket right from the beginning with some astonishing results and produced a few of all time greatest heroes, India were on the verge of screwing it up in the most dreadful way possible, and then Zaheer Khan stood there for a while.
History is not built only on Heroisms. Under the pile of legendary performances, there are some dead hidden small contributions, marked with immense intent, that fade away with the time. Let it be forgotten but they are there. And if you look closely, you realize — without those little fights, History wouldn't have been altered and Heroism would have been merely another-remarkable-effort-in-vain.
