Zaheer Khan deserves all the praise Krishnamachari Srikkanth - 09 January 2003

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Indians have at last won a match against New Zealand and that is good news. I, for one, would, however, have liked them to have avoided making heavy weather of chasing a modest target on a wicket that held no terrors.

The most heartening aspect of the win was the role that Zaheer Khan, the batsman, played in achieving it. The No 9 took some calculated risks and rode his luck to fashion a much-needed Indian win. With the confidence gained from this innings under his belt, I am sure that he will now prove capable of providing added depth to our batting.

A fighter to the core, Zaheer has also been the pick of the Indian bowlers on this tour. At Wellington on Wednesday, he came up with yet another standout performance, snaring three wickets early in the New Zealand innings to ensure that Stephen Fleming's decision to "put ourselves under pressure" backfired.

Yuvraj Singh was the other star on the day. The 21-year-old played a significant hand which ensured that India at least shall not face the ignominy of being whitewashed in the ODI series too. Coming in at a stage when his team had their backs to the wall, Yuvraj kept his head, playing his shots with panache to retrieve the game for India when all seemed lost.

© CricInfo

The fact that we seem to be winning whenever he makes a good contribution underscores his importance in this Indian team. Yuvraj, with his cool head and aggressive approach, is indeed the ideal man to have in the middle- and end-overs and his running into form with the World Cup approaching can only be good news as far as the team is concerned.

One cannot also forget the contribution of Virender Sehwag at the top of the order. The blustery 40-ball 45 that the Indian opener made was vital in securing the win. I feel that he should continue to play like he did on Wednesday, placing his trust in his strength - his shot-making abilities - rather than being defensive.

The relief that the Indians gained from the two-wicket win was palpable with every member of the team joining in the celebration. Now that the mountain has been climbed, the morale of the Indian team is bound to improve. With Stephen Fleming planning to continue his experiments at taking first strike, the upcoming one-dayers would provide Sourav Ganguly and his men with a great opportunity to notch up a couple of vital wins and go into the World Cup in a positive frame of mind. The youngters have delivered at Wellington. It is now up to the seniors to follow suit.

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