When did the demise of Indian cricket start?

When we look back to the Lord’s Test between India and hosts England in 2011, India were in pretty good position after the dismissal of England captain Andrew Strauss. Both the England openers were send for an early shower by none another than the Indian bowling’s lead paceman, Zaheer Khan.

Alastair Cook was caught in-front whereas Strauss fall into the trap created by Zaheer. After that Zaheer induced an edge from Pietersen, but sadly that was not taken. At that juncture many including England fans thought that the No.1 Test team would dismantle England. Oohs and Aahs were heard from the Indian fielders when Praveen and Zak were beating the England batsmen for swing.

But all of a sudden, our worst fears came true. Zaheer was found to be in a bit of trouble. The commentators had their various opinions, as did the fans. Should he go back to the dressing room and receive some treatment? Our wish for of Zaheer’s comeback went unfulfilled for the rest of the series.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 21, 2011: India bowler Zaheer Khan (l) leaves the field with an injury during day one of the 1st npower test match between England.

Zaheer limping back to the pavilion picturized the fall of Indian Cricket. Both from higher rankings as well as weakening their bowling attack. After his departure from the field in the first Test, England’s rose to glory. Their batsmen found it easy to handle Indian bowlers, all on low morale after Zaheer’s departure, who was providing them with breakthroughs at will.

In the 2011 World Cup he provided major breakthroughs with old ball, which included the likes of Devon Smith, Mike Hussey, Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood and Cameroon White.

After the injury Zaheer came back for the Australian tour and again put India in the major seat at the end of first day of the first test.But it was not the Old Zaheer who charged into the batsmen and mocked him with his swing and pace.He was termed as a magician with the old ball by Wasim Akram who was himself a wizard.When Indian Cricket was at its peak having the no.1 test team spot under its belt Zaheer along with Sreesanth and Harbhajan destroyed any batting line-up.But after his comeback from injury,he didn’t got the support from the other end which he used to.

Zaheer was considered to be a major threat with Indian spinners when England visited India in November 2012. But he wasn’t able to display his old ball magic. England speedster Anderson admired Zaheer for his improvement in reverse swing bowling and stated that he used some tricks of Zaheer, which he showed him in the 2007 England series. Zaheer was left out for the 4th Test but even that didn’t change India’s fortune.

Even at 34, Zaheer still has has some of his old magic in him. He can mentor upcoming promising talents like Bhuvneswar Kumar and Shami Ahmed. If he does somehow manage to regain his fitness and form he could be vital when Australia tour India in a few months and carry that into what would probably be his last World Cup in 2015. For he is the best pace bowler India has ever produced till date.