5 instances when a bowler made a grand comeback after a disastrous opening spell

5. Zaheer Khan’s superb comeback spell against England in the ICC World Cup 2011

Zaheer Khan celebrates after picking up Paul Collingwood

When India posted 338 on the board in their ICC World Cup 2011 encounter against England at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, they looked well on course for a comfortable victory. However, England skipper Andrew Strauss had other ideas. He batted magnificently and almost threatened to finish the game on his own.

But India had Zaheer Khan. He was expensive in his first few overs as his figures read 53 runs in 7 overs without a wicket. However, he turned the game on its head with a brilliant display of reverse-swing bowling as he scalped both the set batsmen Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss in consecutive deliveries.

The reverse swinging yorker to Strauss was a pure delight. He then picked another wicket to peg the England team back. The match ended in a tie and it was largely due to the efforts of India’s old wily left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan.