IPL 8: Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan - India's Finest Left-Arm Overs, Not Over Yet

Left-arm pacers are the flavour of the season - the new muse of the cricket world. Pacemen like Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, Wahab Riaz, Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Irfan and Rahat Ali took the 2015 ICC World Cup by storm and put up a show to remember. (Shreyas, Mayank Script 9-Wicket Win for Daredevils)

The trend has continued in the 2015 edition of the Indian Premier League - Boult has been at his brilliant self, Johnson has been hurling his usual 140 km/hour missiles, Starc came in late but has hit his strides immediately with Mitchell McClenaghan becoming a new entrant to the lefty seamers' club.

The above pacers might have grabbed the headlines, but the story has been about the two 36-year-olds who have snatched the spotlight from the above younger lot and re-announced themselves on the cricket scene- Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan. (Zaheer Khan Happy With Comeback)

When Zaheer Khan was bought for an astronomical four crores by Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 IPL auctions, people sat up and took notice. It wasn't because he didn't deserve that bid but who in their right mind pays such an amount for an injury-prone bowler who has hardly bowled in international cricket in the last 18 months?

On Friday afternoon, the question was answered. (Ashish Nehra not Good Enough for Man-of-the-Match Award)

Zaheer's name on the team-list was enough reason for the Indian fans to rejoice but what he did next, made them ecstatic.

The left-arm Indian pacer took the new ball for the Daredevils to square-up against his old pal Virender Sehwag. Though both past their prime, it was a mouthwatering contest for any cricket fan.

Then, it wasn't much of a contest at all. It took Zaheer two deliveries to work Sehwag out.

MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, once called Zaheer Khan 'the Tendulkar of swing bowling'. He said that Zaheer always has a plan against every batsman.

He had one against Sehwag too and it was evident from the first ball. On a slow wicket, Zaheer jogged in, pitched the ball up and slid it across Sehwag. In his own style, Sehwag brought out his booming drive but couldn't reach the ball and spooned it over covers.

The next ball looked the same - pitched up, going across the batsman but the line was much tighter to the off-stump. Sehwag fell for it and was cramped. He tried to make room by going leg-side but pushed too firmly at it. The ball flew off the outside edge and at point, Angelo Mathews did the rest.

After that, Manan Vohra was a piece of cake.

Over the years, Zaheer Khan has kept re-inventing himself. He burst onto the international scene as a tear-away fast bowler but soon understood his body and the craft much better. He traded pace for skills and acumen and that has fetched him 311 Test wickets and 282 ODI scalps.

On Friday, the pace was missing but the acumen was lethal enough to wreck Punjab.

Ashish Nehra - the 'Kiss of Death'!

© BCCI

Zaheer's old partner-in-crime though hasn't shed any pace at all and has been equally devastating.

Ashish Nehra turned 36 this week and with a spell that read 4-0-10-4, the Chennai Super Kings pacer decided to turn the clock back in grand style.

"Body mein injuries nahin, injuries mein body phasi hai" - Nehra once joked about his fitness. It has been the story of his life. The left-armer had an abundance of skills in his armoury but never had the body that could help him to go on and establish himself as one of the most feared pacers in the world.

Every series brought along new injuries and seasons were ruined in rehabilitation but when he was fit and charging in, he bowled spells that made it to the cricketing folklore.

Along with Zaheer, he was one of the main architects of India's dream run in the 2003 World Cup and even in the 2011 edition, Nehra was an important cog. Then again, he missed the 2011 World Cup finals owing to yet another injury.

Not only injuries, Nehra has been a victim of severe criticism and have often been ridiculed by fans for his fielding efforts. His 'Phil Jones' inspired on-field expressions have made him an instant favourite in the meme world. Even on YouTube, his most searched video is the one where he goes ballistic at the then new Indian wicket-keeper, MS Dhoni for dropping a catch against Pakistan.

Things look a touch different in this IPL - the body looks fitter, the rhythm better and the ball is dominating the batsmen. Even the memes have done a complete U-turn - the customary flying kiss celebration is now being dubbed as the 'kiss of death'.

Success does that to the detractors and sitting atop the pile in the IPL bowling charts, Nehra can finally blow a flying kiss back to them.

India bowled brilliantly in the World Cup. Mohammad Shami-led the bowling unit with zeal and they captured 77 wickets throughout the tournament. Still, the attack missed something, a quality left-armer.

There's no chance for either Nehra or Zaheer to make a national comeback. Even if they do, it will be a stop-gap arrangement. Their bodies are fragile and the rigours of international cricket are far too demanding.

However, four over spells in the IPL don't demand much and Nehra and Zaheer might have chosen this edition to remind the Indian fans that their two most lethal left-arm overs are just not over, yet!