September 29 Sunday 2002
Zaheer hopes for a turnaround in final

COLOMBO: India fast bowler Zaheer Khan is hopeful of a memorable second Champions Trophy finals on Sunday after slipping up two years ago."That was my debut series. The pressure was really on me," Zaheer said on Saturday ahead of the crunch game against Sri Lanka.

"Now again I am sort of on my way to achieving my goals." The 23-year-old left-arm paceman is emerging as India's main fast bowler and eventual successor to veteran Javagal Srinath. Srinath, who quit tests in June, is set to make a test comeback next month against West Indies and could also team up with Zaheer in the Champions Trophy final because of injury to left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra.

"In one-dayers you got to stick to the basics. You shouldn't give room to hit and maintain the length consistently," Zaheer told. Zaheer made his international debut at Nairobi in 2000, where he surprised Australian skipper Steve Waugh with sharp pace to york him during India's upset quarter-final win. He took seven wickets in three games, 
but then failed to take one in seven overs for 54 runs in the final loss to New Zealand. 

In Colombo, Zaheer has bowled sharp spells on slow pitches after taking four wickets during a 14-run win over Zimbabwe. He gave just one run off the bat in his first three overs against England, rattling in-form opener Marcus Trescothick and skipper Nasser Hussain to set up an eight-wicket win. He went wicketless, but helped Nehra to 
strike twice from the other end, and was also economical in the semi-finals, returning 1-27 in nine overs, as India beat South Africa by 10 runs. The efforts pleased skipper Saurav Ganguly.

"Every fast bowler is going for six and seven runs here. Zaheer has been fantastic," he said. Zaheer, hailing from a small town in the western Maharashtra state, was more keen on becoming an engineer, but took up the game seriously after he was encouraged at a Bombay club by a former state player Sudhir Nayak. But a stint under former Australia fast bowler Dennis Lillee in 1998 at the Madras-based MRF pace academy helped him rapidly progress to the national side.

"Lillee has been my idol. I used to read his 'Art of fast bowling'. He was impressed with me and boosted my confidence." He taught us how to deal with injuries, to correct action and analyse one's own bowling. Basically to be your own coach." Zaheer took seven wickets in the second Kandy Test last year to help India level a three-match series which Sri Lanka eventually won 2-1.

But a shin injury led to a slump during a subsequent 1-0 Test series defeat in South Africa to be axed along with Nehra for the home series against England late last year. He has since regained fitness to make a confident comeback. Zaheer has taken 73 wickets at an average of 26.50 in one-day games, but his 54 Test wickets have cost him 40.24 apiece.

He said: "At Test level, you can't be taking wickets at this average. The key is to take wickets. Once I start doing that it will come down."