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Published 15:04 IST, July 29th 2020

Zaheer Khan's all 21 wickets in iconic 2011 World Cup win relived; watch video

A fan has compiled a video featuring former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan's 21 wickets during India's victorious 2011 World Cup campaign, much to fans' delight.

Reported by: Wasiq Agha
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Zaheer Khan
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Zaheer Khan is one of the unsung heroes of India’s 2011 World Cup win. While the usual suspects that come to mind about the tournament include MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar, many forget that the fast bowler played a starring role throughout the tournament. Zaheer Khan picked up 21 wickets during the 2011 ICC World Cup, which put him top of the highest wicket-takers list along with Shahid Afridi, who picked the same amount of wickets as well.

Zaheer Khan’s stellar 2011 World Cup campaign ended with the player lifting the trophy, as he finished with 21 wickets in nine innings with an average of 18.76 and a strike rate of 23.20.

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A fan shares a clip of Zaheer Khan’s all 21 wickets

As a tribute to the player’s contribution to the team, a Twitter user on Wednesday shared clip featuring Zaheer Khan’s all 21 wickets during the tournament. The video has since gone viral on Twitter, being viewed more than 25,000 times. The post has also garnered more than 2,000 likes by now. The clip shows the best of Zaheer Khan’s World Cup, giving Indian fans a chance to reminisce the player’s performances nine years after India’s victorious campaign.

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The two-minute odd clip begins with Zaheer Khan dismissing Paul Sterling of Ireland. The first four wickets show the Indian pacer bowling out batsmen. Following that, the Zaheer Khan wickets highlights reel shows a couple of dismissals in which the player dismissed the batsmen caught behind. The next set of wickets include some of the crucial moments which turned the matches in India’s favour courtesy of Zaheer Khan’s bowling.

A couple of LBW dismissals come next, with the Zaheer Khan wickets reel ending with the player’s performance from the World Cup final. Zaheer Khan finished with figures of 10-0-60-2, as he helped India beat Sri Lanka.

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Fans react to Zaheer Khan wickets video

Many fans appreciated the user for posting the video, as they paid a tribute to Zaheer Khan’s iconic World Cup campaign. One fan recalled that MS Dhoni had once called Zaheer Khan the 'Sachin Tendulkar of bowling'. MS Dhoni had made the comment in 2012 during the T20 World Cup. Oher fans after looking at the video discussed their favourite wickets from the game, with the bowler’s dismissal of Andrew Strauss and Michael Hussey being loved by many. Another fan called Zaheer Khan the best-left arm pacer Indian cricket has ever seen.

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Not only fans but even former cricketers like Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh have talked about Zaheer Khan’s importance during the 2011 World Cup. During a show, the bowler had revealed how he supported Yuvraj Singh throughout the tournament. Zaheer Khan revealed that he constantly motivated the player and made sure Yuvraj Singh played the tournament despite suffering from illness.

Image Courtesy: twitter/chaitu_20

Updated 15:04 IST, July 29th 2020