The Jelly Bean Trigger: When Zaheer Khan Turned Insult into Firepower

Zaheer Khan turned England's jelly bean prank into motivation, leading India to a rare and historic Test series win in England in 2007.

Zaheer Khan-Jelly Bean Incident (Image Source: Google)

India vs England Special: After 1971, India won just two Test series in England in 1986 & 2007. The latter came with a 1-0 victory in a three-match series. The team featured legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Anil Kumble—none of whom played Test cricket in England after that. It was England’s first home series loss since Australia’s visit in 2001. One of the main reasons attributed to England’s defeat was the Indian left-arm duo—Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh—who swung the Dukes ball to perfection.

The series is also remembered for a controversial incident in which England players threw jelly beans on the pitch while Zaheer Khan was batting. How Zaheer responded to that incident is quite a story. He bowled magnificently at Trent Bridge, taking 4 for 59 and 5 for 75, helping India win the Test—and eventually the series. It was only India’s fifth Test win in England.

The first Test of the series ended in a draw due to rain. In the second Test at Trent Bridge, England were on the back foot from the start and were bowled out for just 198 in the first innings, with Zaheer claiming 4 wickets. Taking full advantage of the ideal batting conditions, the Indian batsmen piled on 464 for 7 when Zaheer walked in to bat. He spotted jelly beans on the pitch, swept a few aside, but was clearly upset.

He scored an unbeaten 10 but was visibly irritated by the sight of jelly beans. Still, he didn’t lose his temper. However, England clearly didn’t realize how he would respond.

Trailing by a massive 283 runs, England faced a fired-up Zaheer Khan in the second innings. He was on target from the outset, claiming 5 wickets—including that of centurion Michael Vaughan. India chased down the 73-run target and sealed a historic victory—their first-ever Test win at Trent Bridge. Zaheer Khan was named Man of the Match for his 9 wickets. The jelly beans had, in a sense, awakened a beast.

“The bad behaviour was taken one step further when one of the England players put jelly beans on the pitch before Zaheer went out to bat. The issue of who did it was irrelevant (Sky had no television evidence, but Ian Bell was named by several newspapers). Players should respect the opposition: let them know they are in a battle, but don’t be childish or juvenile. They would not have done it to Tendulkar, so why Zaheer? He was justified in getting angry and brandishing his bat. He was only going to react in one way—and that was to get more involved in the series, if that was even possible. India are a better side when they are fired up, and by winding up Zaheer, England made a major mistake.” — Wisden

Zaheer Khan ended the series as the highest wicket-taker with 18 wickets and was a strong contender for Player of the Series. The jelly beans drama only made India’s victory more memorable.

So, did the jelly beans merely upset Zaheer—or did they inspire him? Zaheer himself said he was "inspired ... to do well" by what happened. Most media reports at the time suggested that his brilliant bowling was, at least in part, fueled by frustration over England’s gamesmanship. The Indian team was desperately seeking a Test series win outside the subcontinent—and Zaheer took that mission seriously.

Zaheer was known to be a serious cricketer who took Test cricket very seriously. For him, the jelly beans were no laughing matter. After the match, he said he felt “insulted” on seeing them on the pitch. The general consensus was that England’s bizarre prank had backfired—because it inspired Zaheer to do even better.

He explained:

“There were some jelly beans on the crease when I came out to bat, so I moved one off the wicket. After I played the next ball, there were again some jelly beans on the wicket. Obviously, someone was chucking them from behind me, which I didn’t like. So, I asked the fielders what it was all about, and then they came at me hard. I was upset. I didn’t know where the beans were coming from.”

He subsequently had a spat with Kevin Pietersen. England, however, downplayed the incident and even joked about it. Chris Tremlett later said:

“When you’re in the field for two days, you sometimes need to have a bit of fun, introduce something to ease some tension – it was just a shame that this was at the expense of the opposition and, to be honest, we probably chose the wrong man.”

Tremlett admitted that although Pietersen was accused, the idea came from Ian Bell:

“A lot of players would have pockets full of sweets to keep them going during the day. I think Belly decided to put this to a slightly different use.”

The incident, however, stayed in the spotlight. Michael Vaughan, the England captain, faced a barrage of questions. Both Vaughan and Alastair Cook agreed the matter was blown out of proportion and overshadowed what had been a gripping Test match.

To defuse the tension, Vaughan issued an apology:

“… Two jelly beans were left on the floor by the stumps during the drinks interval when the wicket fell. I guess one of the guys might have left them as a prank for the new batsman. If that offended Zaheer, I apologise.”

Still, Vaughan believed Zaheer’s performance couldn’t be attributed solely to the jelly bean incident—pointing out that he had bowled well even in the first innings.

In 2022, former England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom reflected on the incident during a visit to India:

“Sometimes Test cricket can be tough, and you think life is too short—you just have to enjoy it with a smile. In the jelly bean incident, India was on top in that game and were outplaying us. We just thought to put jelly beans on the wicket; it was nothing—just a bit of banter. The English press blew it out of proportion. But you know, we all want to have a little bit of fun and enjoy what we’re doing.”