Ashish Nehra vs Zaheer Khan: Comparing their IPL stats
Left-arm pacers have had their fair share in the history books when it comes to cricket. Their uncanny angle makes them indespenable assets. India produced two terrific left-arm seamers in the form of Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. While Zaheer's guile made him go from strength to strength, Nehra thrived on resilience in his injury-hit career. Here we decode their stats in the IPL.
First-ever player to take a wicket in IPL
Zaheer played in the first-ever IPL match, in the inaugural season (2008), for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He became the first-ever bowler to take a wicket in the tournament. The pacer dismissed Sourav Ganguly to script history. Zaheer, in the next few years, also played for Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. He is one of the few bowlers with over 100 IPL wickets.
Zaheer's stats in IPL
Zaheer, who played until the 2017 IPL season, ended up with 102 wickets from 100 games at an average of 27.27. Zaheer's economy rate in the tournament reads 7.58, while his tally includes a solitary four-wicket haul.
Nehra had a similar run
Nehra's IPL career followed a similar trajectory. He represented a host of franchises, including Chennai Super Kings, DC, MI, Pune Warriors India, and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Nehra made his IPL debut in the 2008 season, for MI against RCB. Interestingly, Zaheer bowled for the Royal Challengers in that match. While Zaheer took two wickets, Nehra conceded over 40 runs in that match.
Nehra finished with 106 wickets
In his illustrious career, Nehra snapped up 106 wickets from 88 matches at an average of 23.53. Like Zaheer, the former finished with a four-wicket haul. He had an economy rate of 7.84.
Other notable takeaways from their career
Zaheer was appointed DC's captain in the 2016 season. He led the Capitals for two seasons (2016 and 2017). He took his 100th IPL wicket in his final season (2017). Nehra took 30 wickets from just 20 IPL matches at 19.70 for CSK. He picked up 36 wickets for the Capitals at 21.050. Zaheer scalped 26 wickets at 25.53 for MI.
