Dravid says Zaheer made the difference for India

By Richard Sydenham

NOTTINGHAM (Reuters) - Captain Rahul Dravid praised paceman Zaheer Khan after the tourists won the second test against England on Tuesday.

India won by seven wickets on the fifth morning at Trent Bridge to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Left-arm seamer Zaheer took nine wickets in the match, including figures of five for 75 in England's second innings.

"Zaheer was the star of our bowling," Dravid told reporters. "He showed what a leading bowler must do and what we expect. In conditions where he was asked to put up his hand he did that.

"He led, the other two boys (Rudra Pratap Singh and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth) are really young and on the first day, when we won a good toss, Zaheer stood up.

"Yesterday (Monday) afternoon when the game was in the balance, he took the game by the scruff of the neck and really delivered. That's what good fast bowlers do, that's what match-winners do and I think he was a match-winner for us in this game."

Dravid said Sreesanth, who was fined 50 percent of his match fee for needlessly shoulder barging England captain Michael Vaughan on Monday, could learn from Zaheer.

"He has a great example in Zaheer Khan and, if he needs to learn from anyone, he just needs look at what Zaheer's done in this test match for us," Dravid said.

"He has had controlled aggression. Zaheer has been as aggressive as anyone else without going over the top and just sticking to performing and getting wickets.

"Sree is a talented bowler, young and a bit excitable. He is going to learn along the way. It's part of our responsibility to ensure he learns."