da premier bet： Zaheer Khan used to be a tailender who could contribute with the bat, but he does not seem to have the will to tough it out anymore

da fazobetai： Sidharth Monga in Durban27-Dec-2013A timeline of Zaheer’s failings

December 28, 2011: India are battling for a first-innings lead after they bowled Australia out for 333 in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. They have had good partnerships, but Australia have broken them. At 259 for 8, Zaheer withdraws to the leg side, shows James Pattinson all three pegs, heaves wildly, and is bowled for 4 off six balls. His partner at the time: R Ashwin, on 10. India concede a lead, and go on to lose.
January 13, 2012: Batting first at the WACA Ground, India are under the pump at 152 for 7. Zaheer joins MS Dhoni, who needs support. However, he starts swinging blindly, refusing to stand in front of the stumps. Zaheer finally edges one. India lose by an innings.
January 26, 2012: After conceding 604, India are struggling on a good batting pitch in Adelaide. Kohli is fighting hard, toiling to show he belongs at Test level. He is on 91, and has just lost Ashwin, but is hoping someone will stick around. Zaheer flails at his first delivery outside off and departs for a duck, leaving Kohli despondent. India go on to lose the game.
November 26, 2012: India are barely in the game in the second innings at the Wankhede Stadium, against England, and need a target to defend. Gautam Gambhir is batting on 61, and India are only 45 ahead, but Zaheer slog-sweeps at Monty Panesar and is caught for 1 off 11 balls. India lose again.
December 19, 2013: Kohli has scored a hundred at the Wanderers, the first Indian to show fight on the tour. However, India are threatening to throw away the advantage on the second morning. Zaheer walks out to join a fighting R Ashwin, but moves about in the crease before offering no shot to a quick straight delivery, and is lbw first ball. India are bowled out for 280, but their bowlers do a good job, and one of the greatest draws of all time is played out.
December 27, 2013: India are up against Dale Steyn, who is finding form after more than 70 wicketless overs: 198 for 1 became 199 for 4, but two half-century stands have taken the score to 320 for 6. Ajinkya Rahane is nearing a fifty and India need to make 400 to shut out a defeat in a Test that has already lost close to two sessions to bad weather. If India eliminate defeat, they eliminate a series defeat, a big achievement for a transitioning side in South Africa. Zaheer comes in at No. 8, and is given strike by Rahane, who is now on 49. He backs away and swings at the first ball he faces and edges behind. India are bowled out for 334 – last five wickets gone for 14 – and they could still lose the game.

Almost every time Zaheer Khan has come to bat in the last three years, with the match still alive and his contribution vital, he hasn’t – for some reason – shown willingness to get behind the line of the ball, or fought for the sake of the better batsman at the other end (see sidebar). He has collected eight ducks over this period, taking his tally to 29. Only five cricketers have more.Zaheer wasn’t always like this. He once played an important role in saving a Test by scoring an unbeaten 57 off 121 balls with Harbhajan Singh for company. He followed that innings with a sledge at his opponents, Australia, saying they couldn’t even get Harbhajan and him out, and went on to win the series for India with the ball. Something has gone wrong with Zaheer the batsman in the last two years or so, and it is hurting India because they know he can contribute crucial runs if he applies himself.Zaheer has been an invaluable bowler for India. He has been a great mentor for the younger bowlers. Nobody can, or should try to, take that away from him. When he bats like he did in Durban, though, and like he has done in the recent past, it sends wrong signals to the opposition and to his own team-mates. For starters, Zaheer’s wicket and the one that fell before him seems like the beginning of a collapse, and it’s difficult for Ishant Sharma to quell the opposition’s momentum.Ishant has always treated Zaheer as a guru. Maybe it is time for Zaheer to learn a few lessons from the apprentice. Even against the fastest bowlers, and in the trickiest conditions, Ishant tries his best to get behind deliveries. When Zaheer left Kohli on 91 in Adelaide, it was Ishant who saw the youngster through to a century that told him he belonged in top-flight Test cricket. Kohli was India’s only gain during the 0-4 whitewash.Today in Durban, with Ashwin dropped and Zaheer batting the way he is, India’s batting practically ended at No. 7. Given the fine margins and micro management of the modern game, it is surprising India have neither worked on Zaheer’s batting nor demoted him down the order. It was also surprising that Rahane took a single off the first ball of the 109th over, although that could have much to do with this being only his third Test. The leadership team needs to step in there again.This is not to bag Zaheer, who has bravely fought his body to play 90 Tests and take 300 wickets. He has quite a few deserved allowances in the team. Zaheer is not expected to dive around and save runs. That can be overlooked. However, batting – or the effort put into batting – for a specialist bowler in modern cricket is as important as fielding – or the effort put into fielding – is for a specialist batsman. Especially when you aren’t a complete mug.This is not to blame Zaheer for the predicament India are in. However, the impact of such performances accumulates over time. For those who think criticising Zaheer’s batting is making a mountain out of a molehill, this is what MS Dhoni said in 2010, incidentally in Durban, when India were the No. 1 Test side: “We have done really well. We have played some good, consistent cricket. As a team we have done well. Every one has contributed: bowlers or the batsmen or the fielders. The part-timers have contributed in getting wickets, at the same time the lower order has really contributed quite consistently throughout the year.”One of the important things was the lower-order contribution. Over the years it has really changed. The lower-order batsmen have put a price on their wicket. They have contributed along with the batsmen. At the same time if the batsmen get out, they are able to score runs. Which really helps, and frustrates the opposition.”