A match-winner in all conditions

High-quality new-ball bowlers have been a rare species for India, but Zaheer Khan ticked all the boxes, over an international career that lasted more than 13 years. He spearheaded the pace attack for much of that period, showing plenty of skill and cricketing nous to become an effective strike bowler in all conditions. His final tally of 311 Test wickets is fourth among Indian bowlers, and second among Indian seamers, after Kapil Dev, while his ODI tally of 282 is also fourth among Indian bowlers, after Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar. (He took 269 wickets when playing for India - which is also fourth-best - and 13 for Asia XI.)

He was especially injury-prone through the last few years of his career, but still had enough left in the tank to take a five-for in his last Test, in Wellington: it was in a match that will forever be remembered for Brendon McCullum's incredible triple-hundred and his 352-run stand with BJ Watling, which turned near-certain defeat into a draw, but Zaheer toiled through that innings to take 5 for 170. Only two other Indian bowlers - Mohammad Nissar and Vivek Razdan - have taken a five-for in their last Test match. (Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami have also achieved it, but they are active cricketers.)

That five-for was Zaheer's 11th in Tests, of which seven came during this best phase, a 45-Test period between September 2005 and January 2012. During this period he took 186 wickets - an average of 4.1 wickets per Test - at an average of 28.56. Each of his five Man-of-the-Match awards in Tests came during this period. By contrast, he had taken only 102 wickets in his first 38 Tests - that's 2.68 wickets per Test - at an average of 37.64. (The much-maligned Ishant had 123 wickets after 38 Tests, at an average of 34.54.)

While the start to his Test career wasn't so impressive, he turned it around magnificently after 2005, and the peaks he achieved after that were spectacular.

But Zaheer's ODI peaks didn't coincide with his Test peaks. He started off with a flourish in the ICC KnockOut tournament in 2000, and then continued in a similar vein through the first three years of his ODI career, taking 118 wickets in his first 77 games at an average of 25. That included a super 2003 World Cup, when he took 18 wickets at 20.77.

His ODI form dipped a bit thereafter, but again soared between 2008 and 2011, culminating in a World Cup-winning performance in 2011, when he was the joint leading wicket-taker with 21.

Among India's greatest

Along with Kapil and Srinath, Zaheer is easily among the top three swing and seam bowlers India has produced. Kapil took more wickets at a better average, but both Srinath and Zaheer were marginally higher in terms of wickets per Test. In wins, Zaheer took 149 wickets, easily the highest among Indian fast bowlers; in fact, he is the only one to touch the 100-wicket mark. Kapil and Ishant both have 90, followed by Srinath with 68.

Arguably his best bowling performance came in the 2007 Trent Bridge Test, when innings figures of 4 for 59 and 5 for 75 led India to a famous win, which was enough to win them their first series in England since 1986. That was also the only time he won a Man-of-the-Match award outside the subcontinent.

Overall, Zaheer's Test numbers outside the subcontinent (excluding Zimbabwe) matched his stats in Asia: he took 134 wickets in 35 Tests in Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies, at an average of 32.18. Among Indian fast bowlers with at least 50 wickets in these countries, only Kapil has a better average. Zaheer's wickets-per-Test number in these countries is better than all the others, including Kapil.

The best years

When he was in his pomp, Zaheer was easily among the best fast bowlers going around. Between September 2005 and January 2012, only Dale Steyn, Mohammad Asif and Makhaya Ntini had better averages among fast bowlers who took at least 100 wickets during that period. Zaheer's average of 28.56 was better than those of James Anderson, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Broad.

Terror for left-hand batsmen

Throughout his career, Zaheer enjoyed bowling against left-handers. The five batsmen he dismissed most often in Tests were all left-handers - Matthew Hayden, Graeme Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Andrew Strauss and Tim McIntosh. In the 83 Tests he played since the beginning of 2002, he averaged 28.45 against left-hand batsmen and 32.46 against right-handers. During his best period his average improved against both - 25.55 against left-handers and 28.98 against right-handers.

Among the right-handers, Ian Bell struggled most against Zaheer: he was dismissed five times in 44 deliveries, and scored just 22, giving him a woeful average of 4.40. Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting were also dismissed five times by Zaheer, but they had much better averages.

Zaheer's World Cup exploits

As an ODI bowler, Zaheer's exploits in the 2003 and 2011 World Cups are easily his biggest achievements. In 23 World Cup games, Zaheer took 44 wickets at 20.22. Only four bowlers have taken more World Cup wickets - Glenn McGrath, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas. Srinath has 44 wickets too, but in 34 games compared to Zaheer's 23.

For a team struggling to find bowlers who could bowl during the slog overs, Zaheer was a boon. His economy rate between the 41st and 50th overs of ODIs was an impressive 6.57, the best among Indian seamers who have bowled at least 50 overs during this period of an innings since the beginning of 2002.

With his control, intelligence and sheer skill, Zaheer was an all-round bowler and unquestionably the leader of the Indian pace attack for much of the last decade. In an all-time Indian XI, he will be the most likely new-ball partner for Kapil.