Indian cricket team in Zimbabwe in 2005-06
Encyclopedia
The Indian cricket team toured Zimbabwe for cricket
matches in August and September 2005. The Indians
played in the Videocon Tri-Series in Zimbabwe, winning three of five matches but losing the final to finish second in the three-team tournament, and they played Zimbabwe
for two Test matches
in September 2005. The hosts Zimbabwe were ninth out of ten teams in the ICC Test Championship
, with their last win against the top eight Test nations coming in June 2001, against India. They did not manage to win a match here either, as India, led by the performances of fast bowler
Irfan Pathan
(who took 21 wickets), won the series 2–0 after an innings win in the first Test and a 10-wicket win in the second. India consolidated their third place in the Test championship with the win, which was also their first series win in Zimbabwe in four attempts.
This was also the final Test match contested in Zimbabwe before the team was suspended from Test cricket
.
Dion Ebrahim
fought off the bowling efforts of Zaheer Khan
, Lakshimpathy Balaji and Anil Kumble
to make 169 for Zimbabwe Board XI against India - the only Zimbabwean top-order batsman to pass 20, although number nine Keith Dabengwa
made 60. Zimbabwe declared on 294 for 9, Kumble having taken five for 48, while Khan and Balaji leaked runs. Then, Virender Sehwag
, Gautam Gambhir
and Rahul Dravid
made centuries, and India eased to 572 for 9, with Graeme Cremer
picking up four wickets. Balaji picked up the wicket of Terry Duffin
for 0, but Hamilton Masakadza
and Brendan Taylor
added 96 as Zimbabwe batted out for the draw.
http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005-06/IND_IN_ZIM/SCORECARDS/IND_ZIM-BOARD-XI_08-10SEP2005.html
Zimbabwe
battled well on the first day of the two-Test series with India
, as opening batsman Terry Duffin
survived early jitters to become the first Zimbabwean to make a half-century on debut since Stuart Matsikenyeri
, while the team made their highest score since the tour of Bangladesh
last season. Duffin and Brendan Taylor
started reasonably well, adding 25 before Taylor inside edged onto his pad and the ball popped up to Gautam Gambhir
who took a good catch. Hamilton Masakadza
stepped in, and looked quite settled before gloving the ball down the leg side
to the wicket-keeper
for 14. Dion Ebrahim
survived with Duffin until lunch, however, as Zimbabwe made their way to 75 for 2.
After lunch, Zimbabwe fought back, with Duffin hitting some technically sound boundaries
. They brought up 100 in just over five overs after lunch, with no further loss, but Duffin was eventually dismissed
lbw
for 56 - out to a trademark inswinger
from Irfan Pathan
. Pathan got another wicket in his next over, as Dion Ebrahim
was caught and bowled, and suddenly Zimbabwe could be looking at a familiar collapse, with the score 124 for 4.
The current and former captains
of the Zimbabwe team, Tatenda Taibu
and Heath Streak
, had other thoughts, however. The pair added 70 in a fine rearguard effort, while not rejecting the odd high-scoring shot either, and frustrated the Indian bowlers for 25 overs. Eventually it was India's most experienced bowler, 34-year-old Anil Kumble
, who broke the defences - Streak couldn't quite read the turn of the ball correctly, and was caught for 27. Kumble also dismissed young Charles Coventry
for 2, leaving Taibu with all-rounder
Andy Blignaut
.
Blignaut was strangely subdued for the 33 deliveries he faced, and although he did attempt some ODI-style heaves, they mostly missed both his bat and the off stump
. Blignaut was eventually lbw for 4, but Keith Dabengwa
came to the rescue with an entertaining 35 to bat out the day. He yielded a catch to VVS Laxman at first slip
off Irfan Pathan
in the second over of the morning, however, as Zimbabwe only managed to add ten to their overnight score for the loss of three wickets. Pathan was the pick of he Indian bowlers, swinging
the ball well to dismiss Gavin Ewing
and Blessing Mahwire
as well, as Zimbabwe were all out for 279 - with Tatenda Taibu
left not out
for 71.
However, in sunny conditions and on a good batting track, India found the going very easy. Admittedly Dabengwa dropped a hard catch off Virender Sehwag
on 5, and Sehwag made the Zimbabweans pay, pounding six fours and one six in a 44 before Mahwire found a way through his defences at the stroke of lunch. India had added 88 for the first wicket, however, and although Gautam Gambhir
departed for 46 shortly after lunch, the foundation was laid down. Rahul Dravid
was back to his form from before the one-day series, and VVS Laxman also survived a tricky period to hit his eighth Test
century
. Mahwire added yet another wicket to his tally, as he lured Dravid into an edge that fell into Brendan Taylor
's hands, but Laxman pounded Zimbabwe's bowlers in the evening session, giving them a relatively comfortable lead of 46 runs at stumps on day two.
Zimbabwe had a good morning session on the third day, by their standards, as Laxman was run out
for 140 and Yuvraj Singh
and Dinesh Karthik
were dismissed in successive overs. Captain Ganguly, however, held together well with the lower order, and he notched up the half-century along with his 5000th Test run before lunch, and India battled out the morning session with no further loss. And in the afternoon session, India's spinners took some beating. Dabengwa and Ewing bowled all but one over of the 37-over long session, despite Irfan Pathan
defying the bowlers for 52 and Ganguly nurdling his way to 97 before tea, as Taibu seemed content with Ewing tying down the runs. He did not even do that very efficiently - by tea, his bowling analysis
read 38-5-111-0, but he got a breakthrough three overs into the evening as the Indian captain smashed the ball straight to Dabengwa for 101. By the time, however, the Indian score had soared past 500, and in a frantic 40-ball feast at the end Harbhajan Singh
, Zaheer Khan
and Anil Kumble
combined to add 52 for the last two wickets.
The hosts did not put up as much fight in the second innings as in the first, however. During the course of 45 minutes, Irfan Pathan
had removed four Zimbabwean batsmen - Taylor made 4, Masakadza 2, Ebrahim 2 and Streak a golden duck
. Duffin, the discovery of the first innings, was also dismissed by Zaheer
for 2. Only Taibu seemede vaguely comfortable against the swing bowler, and his partnership with Coventry at least added 49 runs on the board. However, in the last scheduled over of the day, Coventry gave a catch to Gambhir off Harbhajan Singh
, resulting in Harbhajan's 200th Test wicket. Zimbabwe thus needed 208 for their last four wickets to avoid the innings defeat.
Zimbabwe resisted for a session on the fourth day against the Indian spinners, but Harbhajan and Anil Kumble
chipped away with wickets, first by removing Blignaut for a well-struck 26, and then Taibu and Dabengwa in quick succession. Needing only one more wicket for the win, India attacked, but the fielder at short leg dropped Gavin Ewing
early on and he answered by smashing the spin bowlers around. Ewing and Mahwire added 47 runs in 13 overs before Harbhajan finally got a ball to spin back into Ewing's pads - gone for 34, but at least he got a somewhat useful score. Nevertheless, Zimbabwe were all out for 185, and they suffered yet another innings defeat.
(Cricinfo scorecard)
A Zimbabwe team
that had made one change from the previous Test, exchanging Ewing for Test debutant Waddington Mwayenga
, gave the Indian
slip
fielders and wicket-keeper
a lot of practice during the first morning of the second Test of the series, as four catches went to hand during the first 69 balls of the match. It started with Brendan Taylor, who edged to Rahul Dravid with the third delivery of the match, out for 4. Terry Duffin and Dion Ebrahim showed more patience, lasting for ten overs, but once Irfan Pathan found Duffin's outside edge Zimbabwe lost three wickets for no runs. Captain Tatenda Taibu, who had been top-scorer in both innings in the last Test, made a two-ball duck, while Dion Ebrahim was caught behind off Zaheer Khan, Zaheer's first wicket in the match. Heath Streak and Hamilton Masakadza survived for fifteen overs - four of them bowled by captain Sourav Ganguly, testing his skills with the swinging ball - but Streak eventually edged a ball from Harbhajan onto his pads and into the hands of Gautam Gambhir, leaving Zimbabwe at 75 for 5 at lunch.
Pathan continued the rout after the break, helped by Harbhajan, who snared Coventry for Zimbabwe's best score of the innings, a typical stroke-filled 37, including four fours and a six. After his nine-wicket-haul in the first match that left him with Man of the Match honours, Pathan now removed Masakadza, Blignaut, Dabengwa and Mahwire, to end with career best figures
of seven for 59. Zimbabwe's innings had lasted 44.2 overs, yielded 161 runs (the Test debutant Mwayenga contributing with 14 not out
from number 11) and included eight catches and two lbws.
India's innings was as easy as it had been a week ago. From the first 12 overs, Sehwag and Gambhir added 75 runs, before Sehwag edged Streak behind for a run-a-ball 44. Gambhir continued, though, and India lost no further wickets until the close of play, leaving them on 195 for 1 with Gambhir five runs short of his second Test century. Rahul Dravid was more subdued, only making 49 from 103 balls, and he was occasionally troubled by Streak - but not enough to surrender his wicket.
Zimbabwe had better luck on day two, as the removal of Gautam Gambhir fifteen balls into the morning incited a return to accurate line and length bowling. The run rate was slow for today's Test cricket, as India accumulated only 2.46 runs per over in the first two sessions, including a period of 14 overs without a single boundary. India went defensive after losing Laxman for 8, and Dravid and Ganguly ground out the runs - only for Ganguly to depart for 16 shortly before lunch, giving Mwayenga his first Test wicket. Dravid and Yuvraj Singh pushed gently onwards after the break, adding 61 in 21 overs, but the new ball
, delivered from the hands of Streak and Mahwire, caused them to miss the ball often. Eventually, Streak had Yuvraj Singh bowled with a fine inswinger
, and Dravid followed two balls later, clean bowled by Mahwire for 98.
Streak bowled an unbroken 14-over spell from the 80-over mark, with only the 15 minute tea break as respite, but the spell yielded a further three wickets - Pathan added another typically belligerent 32 before Charles Coventry held a catch, while wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik and Anil Kumble were both out in single figures, and Andy Blignaut ended the innings by dismissing Zaheer. Despite taking the last eight wickets for 200 runs - respectable by most measure - Zimbabwe had surrendered a 205-run lead, and their batting was not up to close that gap.
Irfan Pathan was keen to emulate Streak's feat with the new ball, and he did, removing openers Duffin and Taylor to reach 18 wickets for the series. Zaheer, meanwhile, induced two catches in the gully
as Zimbabwe lost the first four wickets for 21 runs. Masakadza and Streak survived until the close of play, adding a further 18, but the further 166 runs required to have India bat again looked enormous.
Streak was dismissed early in the morning, but spirited innings from Coventry and Blignaut, along with Masakadza's third Test fifty, delayed the result somewhat, preventing Zimbabwe from suffering their sixth successive innings defeat. Coventry added a belligerent 25 before holing out to Ganguly at midwicket, while Blignaut was the beneficiary of five dropped chances by the Indian fielders - including three in an over bowled by Zaheer Khan. At the other end, however, the 22-year-old Masakadza composed 71, his highest Test score for four years and his third-highest score overall. Masakadza and Blignaut raced away, adding 151 before lunch, and they took the score to 201 for 6 before an all too familiar collapse struck. Masakadza started it, trapped lbw by Pathan, and Dabengwa and Mahwire both went for ducks. Zimbabwe needed three runs to avoid the innings defeat, and once they were provided, Blignaut started swinging. He hit two sixes after the departure of Mahwire, but debutant Mwayenga deserted him, lbw to Zaheer for 1.
Needing 20 to win, India hardly needed the 15-minute innings break - they wrapped it up with 14 deliveries, as they were handed the game with four leg side
bye
s from Blignaut. Sehwag had hit three fours in a routine unbeaten 14 as India made it to 20 for no loss with ease.
(Cricinfo scorecard)
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches in August and September 2005. The Indians
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
played in the Videocon Tri-Series in Zimbabwe, winning three of five matches but losing the final to finish second in the three-team tournament, and they played Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
for two Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in September 2005. The hosts Zimbabwe were ninth out of ten teams in the ICC Test Championship
ICC Test Championship
The ICC Test Championship is an international competition run by the International Cricket Council in the sport of cricket for the 10 teams that play Test cricket...
, with their last win against the top eight Test nations coming in June 2001, against India. They did not manage to win a match here either, as India, led by the performances of fast bowler
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
(who took 21 wickets), won the series 2–0 after an innings win in the first Test and a 10-wicket win in the second. India consolidated their third place in the Test championship with the win, which was also their first series win in Zimbabwe in four attempts.
This was also the final Test match contested in Zimbabwe before the team was suspended from Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
| Indians in Zimbabwe in 2005 | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Date | 9 July 2005 to 22 September 2005 | |
| Captains | Sourav Ganguly Sourav Ganguly Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his... |
Tatenda Taibu Tatenda Taibu Tatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka.... |
| Number of Tests played | 2 | |
| Test series result | 2 | 0 |
| Most runs (Tests) | Rahul Dravid Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... 175 |
Andy Blignaut Andy Blignaut Arnoldus "Andy" Mauritius Blignaut is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping... 127 |
| Most wickets (Tests) | Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 21 |
Heath Streak Heath Streak Heath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi... & Blessing Mahwire Blessing Mahwire Ngonidzashe Blessing Mahwire is a Zimbabwean cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Mashonaland and has also made appearances for the Zimbabwean cricket team in both the Test match and One Day International forms of the game... 6 |
| ODI series | See Videocon Tri-Series 2005-06 Videocon Tri-Series 2005-06 The Videocon Tri-Series was a three-team One Day International cricket tournament taking place in Zimbabwe between the hosts Zimbabwe, India and New Zealand. It started on 24 August 2005 and ended with the final on 6 September 2005, which New Zealand won by six wickets... |
|
Squads
- India: Sourav GangulySourav GangulySourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(captain)Captain (cricket)The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
, Dinesh KarthikDinesh KarthikKrishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keeper...
(wicket-keeperWicket-keeperThe wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
) Ajit AgarkarAjit AgarkarAjit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998...
, Lakshmipathy BalajiLakshmipathy BalajiLakshmipathy Balaji is an Indian cricketer. He is a right arm fast medium bowler.-International Cricket:...
, Rahul DravidRahul DravidRahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
, Gautam GambhirGautam GambhirGautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
, Harbhajan SinghHarbhajan SinghHarbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
, Dheeraj JadhavDheeraj JadhavDheeraj Subash Jadhav , is an Indian cricketer who currently plays for Assam. He has represented Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League and Maharashtra in domestic cricket. Although he used to bat in the middle order, he later became a strokeplaying opening batsman which produced immediate...
, Mohammad Kaif, Zaheer KhanZaheer KhanZaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
, Anil KumbleAnil KumbleAnil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
, VVS Laxman, Irfan PathanIrfan PathanIrfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
, Virender SehwagVirender SehwagVirender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, Yuvraj SinghYuvraj SinghYuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
- Zimbabwe: Tatenda TaibuTatenda TaibuTatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka....
(captainCaptain (cricket)The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
and wicket-keeperWicket-keeperThe wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
), Andy BlignautAndy BlignautArnoldus "Andy" Mauritius Blignaut is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping...
, Charles CoventryCharles Coventry (Zimbabwean cricketer)Charles Kevin Coventry is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper. Within Zimbabwe he is known as "Chappie" Coventry. He previously held the record of the highest individual score in a One Day International, 194 runs not out. This was surpassed by Sachin...
, Keith DabengwaKeith DabengwaKeith Mbusi Dabengwa is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Dabengwa is a useful all-rounder who made his First class debut for Matabeleland in 2000, taking 5 for 76, he then spent a season at the CFX Academy being named student of the year before returning to Matabeleland...
, Terry DuffinTerry DuffinTerrence Duffin is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He has played two Test matches for Zimbabwe against India as an opening batsman, and he scored 56 in the first innings of that tour, making him the fifth Zimbabwean to score a half-century on Test debut. However, in the second innings, he was dismissed...
, Dion EbrahimDion EbrahimDion Digby Ebrahim is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Ebrahim is a defensive batsmen who prefers to score cautiously in order to build an innings...
, Blessing MahwireBlessing MahwireNgonidzashe Blessing Mahwire is a Zimbabwean cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Mashonaland and has also made appearances for the Zimbabwean cricket team in both the Test match and One Day International forms of the game...
, Hamilton MasakadzaHamilton MasakadzaHamilton Masakadza is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm leg-break bowler.In February 2000 he became the first black Zimbabwean to score a first-class century. Soon after, in July 2001 he became the youngest player to make a century on his Test debut...
, Waddington MwayengaWaddington MwayengaWaddington Mwayenga is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is primarily a medium pace bowler and plays his county cricket for Worcestershire 2nd XI...
, Heath StreakHeath StreakHeath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi...
, Brendan TaylorBrendan TaylorBrendan Taylor is a Zimbabwean cricketer, who is mainly a batsman, but occasionally keeps wicket or bowls off-spin as well. He is currently the captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team, having taken over the reins from Elton Chigumbura after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...
, Prosper UtseyaProsper UtseyaProsper Utseya is a Zimbabwean cricketer. Rising from the ranks of township cricket in Harare's Highfield suburb, he attended Churchill High School , thanks to Zimbabwe Cricket Union scholarships...
, Sean WilliamsSean Williams (cricketer)Sean Colin Williams is a Zimbabwean cricketer who captained his country at the 2006 Under–19 World Cup. Williams, a left-handed batsman and occasional slow left arm bowler, has a highest score of 70 not out against the West Indies in the match played between the nations at the 2007 World Cup, and...
Schedule
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| September 8-10 |
Zim Board XI v Ind, non-FC warm-up |
Mutare Mutare Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:... |
| 13–17 | Zim v Ind, 1st Test | Bulawayo Bulawayo Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland... |
| 20–24 | Zim v Ind, 2nd Test | Harare Harare Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its... |
ODI series
India won three of five matches in this tournament, beating Zimbabwe twice in the group stage (by 161 runs and four wickets), and New Zealand once, but they lost the final and thus finished second out of the three teams.Tour match: Zimbabwe Board XI v India, 8–10 September
Match drawnDion Ebrahim
Dion Ebrahim
Dion Digby Ebrahim is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Ebrahim is a defensive batsmen who prefers to score cautiously in order to build an innings...
fought off the bowling efforts of Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
, Lakshimpathy Balaji and Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
to make 169 for Zimbabwe Board XI against India - the only Zimbabwean top-order batsman to pass 20, although number nine Keith Dabengwa
Keith Dabengwa
Keith Mbusi Dabengwa is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Dabengwa is a useful all-rounder who made his First class debut for Matabeleland in 2000, taking 5 for 76, he then spent a season at the CFX Academy being named student of the year before returning to Matabeleland...
made 60. Zimbabwe declared on 294 for 9, Kumble having taken five for 48, while Khan and Balaji leaked runs. Then, Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
made centuries, and India eased to 572 for 9, with Graeme Cremer
Graeme Cremer
Alexander Graeme Cremer is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a leg-spinner who got into the Zimbabwe side at the age of eighteen, following the exits of Paul Strang, Andy Whittall and Ray Price from the Zimbabwean team....
picking up four wickets. Balaji picked up the wicket of Terry Duffin
Terry Duffin
Terrence Duffin is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He has played two Test matches for Zimbabwe against India as an opening batsman, and he scored 56 in the first innings of that tour, making him the fifth Zimbabwean to score a half-century on Test debut. However, in the second innings, he was dismissed...
for 0, but Hamilton Masakadza
Hamilton Masakadza
Hamilton Masakadza is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm leg-break bowler.In February 2000 he became the first black Zimbabwean to score a first-class century. Soon after, in July 2001 he became the youngest player to make a century on his Test debut...
and Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor is a Zimbabwean cricketer, who is mainly a batsman, but occasionally keeps wicket or bowls off-spin as well. He is currently the captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team, having taken over the reins from Elton Chigumbura after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...
added 96 as Zimbabwe batted out for the draw.
http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005-06/IND_IN_ZIM/SCORECARDS/IND_ZIM-BOARD-XI_08-10SEP2005.html
First Test: India v Zimbabwe, 13-16 September
| Zimbabwe Zimbabwean cricket team The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket... |
279 | & | 185 | India won by an innings and 90 runs |
T Taibu Tatenda Taibu Tatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka.... 71* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 5/58 |
T Taibu Tatenda Taibu Tatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka.... 53 IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 4/53 |
Queens Sports Club Queens Sports Club Queens Sports Club is a multi-purpose stadium in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It is used mostly for cricket matches. The stadium holds 13,000. The club is one of two homegrounds for the Matabeleland Cricket Team, which up until recently was captained by the Zimbabwean international opening pace bowler... , Bulawayo Bulawayo Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland... , Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three... Umpires: Aleem Dar Aleem Dar Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the... (Pak Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... ) and DJ Harper Daryl Harper Daryl John Harper, is an Australian cricket umpire, who was a Test umpire between 1998 and 2011. He was a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from 2002 until 2011 when the ICC announced that Harper was being stood down at the termination of his contract in July 2011... (Aus Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) Man of the Match: IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... (Ind India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... ) |
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| India Indian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... |
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VVS Laxman 140 NB Mahwire Blessing Mahwire Ngonidzashe Blessing Mahwire is a Zimbabwean cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Mashonaland and has also made appearances for the Zimbabwean cricket team in both the Test match and One Day International forms of the game... 4/92 |
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
battled well on the first day of the two-Test series with India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, as opening batsman Terry Duffin
Terry Duffin
Terrence Duffin is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He has played two Test matches for Zimbabwe against India as an opening batsman, and he scored 56 in the first innings of that tour, making him the fifth Zimbabwean to score a half-century on Test debut. However, in the second innings, he was dismissed...
survived early jitters to become the first Zimbabwean to make a half-century on debut since Stuart Matsikenyeri
Stuart Matsikenyeri
Stuart Matsikenyeri is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and usually opens the batting for Zimbabwe. Matsikenyeri also bowls part time right-arm off-break and is a sharp fielder in the gully....
, while the team made their highest score since the tour of Bangladesh
Zimbabwean cricket team in Bangladesh in 2004-05
The Zimbabwean cricket team in Bangladesh in 2004-05 played 2 Test matchesBangladesh won the series 1-0 with one match drawn. This was the first time Bangladesh had won both a Test match and a Test series.-Schedule:-Squads:-Scorecards:...
last season. Duffin and Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor is a Zimbabwean cricketer, who is mainly a batsman, but occasionally keeps wicket or bowls off-spin as well. He is currently the captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team, having taken over the reins from Elton Chigumbura after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...
started reasonably well, adding 25 before Taylor inside edged onto his pad and the ball popped up to Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
who took a good catch. Hamilton Masakadza
Hamilton Masakadza
Hamilton Masakadza is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm leg-break bowler.In February 2000 he became the first black Zimbabwean to score a first-class century. Soon after, in July 2001 he became the youngest player to make a century on his Test debut...
stepped in, and looked quite settled before gloving the ball down the leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
to the wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
for 14. Dion Ebrahim
Dion Ebrahim
Dion Digby Ebrahim is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Ebrahim is a defensive batsmen who prefers to score cautiously in order to build an innings...
survived with Duffin until lunch, however, as Zimbabwe made their way to 75 for 2.
After lunch, Zimbabwe fought back, with Duffin hitting some technically sound boundaries
Boundary (cricket)
Boundary has two distinct meanings in the sport of cricket:# the edge or boundary of the playing field, and# a manner of scoring runs.-Edge of the field:...
. They brought up 100 in just over five overs after lunch, with no further loss, but Duffin was eventually dismissed
Dismissal (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out . Colloquially, the fielding team is also said to have snared, bagged or captured a wicket. At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings...
lbw
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
for 56 - out to a trademark inswinger
Inswinger
An inswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers.-Grip:An inswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam vertical and the first two fingers slightly across the seam so that it is angled a little to the leg side...
from Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
. Pathan got another wicket in his next over, as Dion Ebrahim
Dion Ebrahim
Dion Digby Ebrahim is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Ebrahim is a defensive batsmen who prefers to score cautiously in order to build an innings...
was caught and bowled, and suddenly Zimbabwe could be looking at a familiar collapse, with the score 124 for 4.
The current and former captains
Zimbabwean national cricket captains
Zimbabwe became a full member of the International Cricket Council on 6 July 1992, thereby gaining the right to play Test matches. It had previously become an associate member of the ICC on 21 July 1981 after independence. Before independence, Rhodesia had competed in the South African Currie...
of the Zimbabwe team, Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka....
and Heath Streak
Heath Streak
Heath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi...
, had other thoughts, however. The pair added 70 in a fine rearguard effort, while not rejecting the odd high-scoring shot either, and frustrated the Indian bowlers for 25 overs. Eventually it was India's most experienced bowler, 34-year-old Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
, who broke the defences - Streak couldn't quite read the turn of the ball correctly, and was caught for 27. Kumble also dismissed young Charles Coventry
Charles Coventry (Zimbabwean cricketer)
Charles Kevin Coventry is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper. Within Zimbabwe he is known as "Chappie" Coventry. He previously held the record of the highest individual score in a One Day International, 194 runs not out. This was surpassed by Sachin...
for 2, leaving Taibu with all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
Andy Blignaut
Andy Blignaut
Arnoldus "Andy" Mauritius Blignaut is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping...
.
Blignaut was strangely subdued for the 33 deliveries he faced, and although he did attempt some ODI-style heaves, they mostly missed both his bat and the off stump
Stump (cricket)
Stump is a term used in the sport of cricket where it has three different meanings:# part of the wicket# a manner of dismissing a batsman# the end of the day's play .-Part of the wicket:...
. Blignaut was eventually lbw for 4, but Keith Dabengwa
Keith Dabengwa
Keith Mbusi Dabengwa is a Zimbabwean cricketer.Dabengwa is a useful all-rounder who made his First class debut for Matabeleland in 2000, taking 5 for 76, he then spent a season at the CFX Academy being named student of the year before returning to Matabeleland...
came to the rescue with an entertaining 35 to bat out the day. He yielded a catch to VVS Laxman at first slip
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
off Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
in the second over of the morning, however, as Zimbabwe only managed to add ten to their overnight score for the loss of three wickets. Pathan was the pick of he Indian bowlers, swinging
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
the ball well to dismiss Gavin Ewing
Gavin Ewing
Gavin Mackie Ewing is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and bowls a right-arm offbreak. As a teenager he spent a short time at Potchefstroom Boys High in South Africa before returning to Zimbabwe....
and Blessing Mahwire
Blessing Mahwire
Ngonidzashe Blessing Mahwire is a Zimbabwean cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Mashonaland and has also made appearances for the Zimbabwean cricket team in both the Test match and One Day International forms of the game...
as well, as Zimbabwe were all out for 279 - with Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu
Tatenda Taibu is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a wicketkeeper and batsman, and can also bowl right arm off spin. On 6 May 2004, he became the youngest Test captain in history, when he captained his team against Sri Lanka....
left not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
for 71.
However, in sunny conditions and on a good batting track, India found the going very easy. Admittedly Dabengwa dropped a hard catch off Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
on 5, and Sehwag made the Zimbabweans pay, pounding six fours and one six in a 44 before Mahwire found a way through his defences at the stroke of lunch. India had added 88 for the first wicket, however, and although Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
departed for 46 shortly after lunch, the foundation was laid down. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
was back to his form from before the one-day series, and VVS Laxman also survived a tricky period to hit his eighth Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
. Mahwire added yet another wicket to his tally, as he lured Dravid into an edge that fell into Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor is a Zimbabwean cricketer, who is mainly a batsman, but occasionally keeps wicket or bowls off-spin as well. He is currently the captain of the Zimbabwean cricket team, having taken over the reins from Elton Chigumbura after the 2011 Cricket World Cup...
's hands, but Laxman pounded Zimbabwe's bowlers in the evening session, giving them a relatively comfortable lead of 46 runs at stumps on day two.
Zimbabwe had a good morning session on the third day, by their standards, as Laxman was run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
for 140 and Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
and Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik
Krishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keeper...
were dismissed in successive overs. Captain Ganguly, however, held together well with the lower order, and he notched up the half-century along with his 5000th Test run before lunch, and India battled out the morning session with no further loss. And in the afternoon session, India's spinners took some beating. Dabengwa and Ewing bowled all but one over of the 37-over long session, despite Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
defying the bowlers for 52 and Ganguly nurdling his way to 97 before tea, as Taibu seemed content with Ewing tying down the runs. He did not even do that very efficiently - by tea, his bowling analysis
Bowling analysis
In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
read 38-5-111-0, but he got a breakthrough three overs into the evening as the Indian captain smashed the ball straight to Dabengwa for 101. By the time, however, the Indian score had soared past 500, and in a frantic 40-ball feast at the end Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
, Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
and Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
combined to add 52 for the last two wickets.
The hosts did not put up as much fight in the second innings as in the first, however. During the course of 45 minutes, Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
had removed four Zimbabwean batsmen - Taylor made 4, Masakadza 2, Ebrahim 2 and Streak a golden duck
Duck (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a duck refers to a batsman's dismissal for a score of zero.-Origin of the term:The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began...
. Duffin, the discovery of the first innings, was also dismissed by Zaheer
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
for 2. Only Taibu seemede vaguely comfortable against the swing bowler, and his partnership with Coventry at least added 49 runs on the board. However, in the last scheduled over of the day, Coventry gave a catch to Gambhir off Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
, resulting in Harbhajan's 200th Test wicket. Zimbabwe thus needed 208 for their last four wickets to avoid the innings defeat.
Zimbabwe resisted for a session on the fourth day against the Indian spinners, but Harbhajan and Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
chipped away with wickets, first by removing Blignaut for a well-struck 26, and then Taibu and Dabengwa in quick succession. Needing only one more wicket for the win, India attacked, but the fielder at short leg dropped Gavin Ewing
Gavin Ewing
Gavin Mackie Ewing is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and bowls a right-arm offbreak. As a teenager he spent a short time at Potchefstroom Boys High in South Africa before returning to Zimbabwe....
early on and he answered by smashing the spin bowlers around. Ewing and Mahwire added 47 runs in 13 overs before Harbhajan finally got a ball to spin back into Ewing's pads - gone for 34, but at least he got a somewhat useful score. Nevertheless, Zimbabwe were all out for 185, and they suffered yet another innings defeat.
(Cricinfo scorecard)
Second Test, Zimbabwe v India, 20–22 September
| Zimbabwe Zimbabwean cricket team The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket... |
161 | & | 223 | India won by ten wickets |
CK Coventry Charles Coventry (Zimbabwean cricketer) Charles Kevin Coventry is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper. Within Zimbabwe he is known as "Chappie" Coventry. He previously held the record of the highest individual score in a One Day International, 194 runs not out. This was surpassed by Sachin... 37 IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 7/59 |
AM Blignaut Andy Blignaut Arnoldus "Andy" Mauritius Blignaut is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is a formidable right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also known for his vicious form with the bat in ODIs, where his frequent scoring of runs at a fast rate is a valuable asset, though seeing him sustaining this form and keeping... 84* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... 5/67 |
Harare Sports Club Harare Sports Club Harare Sports Club is a cricket ground in Harare, Zimbabwe. Initially known as Salisbury Sports Club, Harare Sports Club has served as the primary cricket venue in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe since its inception. The ground became a Test venue in October 1992 when Zimbabwe played their inaugural Test,... , Harare Harare Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its... , Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three... Umpires: Aleem Dar Aleem Dar Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the... (Pak Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... ) and DJ Harper Daryl Harper Daryl John Harper, is an Australian cricket umpire, who was a Test umpire between 1998 and 2011. He was a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from 2002 until 2011 when the ICC announced that Harper was being stood down at the termination of his contract in July 2011... (Aus Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) Man of the Match: IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... Ind Indian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... ) Player of the Series: IK Pathan Irfan Pathan Irfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team... Ind Indian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... ) |
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| India Indian cricket team The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.... |
366 | & | 19/0 | |
R Dravid Rahul Dravid Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers... 98 HH Streak Heath Streak Heath Hilton Streak is a former Zimbabwean cricketer. He made his Test debut in Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan 1993/1994 making his mark by taking 8 wickets in the 2nd Test at Rawalpindi... 6/73 |
V Sehwag Virender Sehwag Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler... 14* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... |
A Zimbabwe team
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
that had made one change from the previous Test, exchanging Ewing for Test debutant Waddington Mwayenga
Waddington Mwayenga
Waddington Mwayenga is a Zimbabwean cricketer. He is primarily a medium pace bowler and plays his county cricket for Worcestershire 2nd XI...
, gave the Indian
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
slip
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
fielders and wicket-keeper
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
a lot of practice during the first morning of the second Test of the series, as four catches went to hand during the first 69 balls of the match. It started with Brendan Taylor, who edged to Rahul Dravid with the third delivery of the match, out for 4. Terry Duffin and Dion Ebrahim showed more patience, lasting for ten overs, but once Irfan Pathan found Duffin's outside edge Zimbabwe lost three wickets for no runs. Captain Tatenda Taibu, who had been top-scorer in both innings in the last Test, made a two-ball duck, while Dion Ebrahim was caught behind off Zaheer Khan, Zaheer's first wicket in the match. Heath Streak and Hamilton Masakadza survived for fifteen overs - four of them bowled by captain Sourav Ganguly, testing his skills with the swinging ball - but Streak eventually edged a ball from Harbhajan onto his pads and into the hands of Gautam Gambhir, leaving Zimbabwe at 75 for 5 at lunch.
Pathan continued the rout after the break, helped by Harbhajan, who snared Coventry for Zimbabwe's best score of the innings, a typical stroke-filled 37, including four fours and a six. After his nine-wicket-haul in the first match that left him with Man of the Match honours, Pathan now removed Masakadza, Blignaut, Dabengwa and Mahwire, to end with career best figures
Bowling analysis
In the sport of cricket, a bowling analysis usually refers to a notation summarising a bowler's performance in terms of overs bowled, how many of those overs are maidens , total runs conceded and number of wickets taken...
of seven for 59. Zimbabwe's innings had lasted 44.2 overs, yielded 161 runs (the Test debutant Mwayenga contributing with 14 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
from number 11) and included eight catches and two lbws.
India's innings was as easy as it had been a week ago. From the first 12 overs, Sehwag and Gambhir added 75 runs, before Sehwag edged Streak behind for a run-a-ball 44. Gambhir continued, though, and India lost no further wickets until the close of play, leaving them on 195 for 1 with Gambhir five runs short of his second Test century. Rahul Dravid was more subdued, only making 49 from 103 balls, and he was occasionally troubled by Streak - but not enough to surrender his wicket.
Zimbabwe had better luck on day two, as the removal of Gautam Gambhir fifteen balls into the morning incited a return to accurate line and length bowling. The run rate was slow for today's Test cricket, as India accumulated only 2.46 runs per over in the first two sessions, including a period of 14 overs without a single boundary. India went defensive after losing Laxman for 8, and Dravid and Ganguly ground out the runs - only for Ganguly to depart for 16 shortly before lunch, giving Mwayenga his first Test wicket. Dravid and Yuvraj Singh pushed gently onwards after the break, adding 61 in 21 overs, but the new ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
, delivered from the hands of Streak and Mahwire, caused them to miss the ball often. Eventually, Streak had Yuvraj Singh bowled with a fine inswinger
Inswinger
An inswinger is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is bowled by swing bowlers.-Grip:An inswinger is bowled by holding the cricket ball with the seam vertical and the first two fingers slightly across the seam so that it is angled a little to the leg side...
, and Dravid followed two balls later, clean bowled by Mahwire for 98.
Streak bowled an unbroken 14-over spell from the 80-over mark, with only the 15 minute tea break as respite, but the spell yielded a further three wickets - Pathan added another typically belligerent 32 before Charles Coventry held a catch, while wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik and Anil Kumble were both out in single figures, and Andy Blignaut ended the innings by dismissing Zaheer. Despite taking the last eight wickets for 200 runs - respectable by most measure - Zimbabwe had surrendered a 205-run lead, and their batting was not up to close that gap.
Irfan Pathan was keen to emulate Streak's feat with the new ball, and he did, removing openers Duffin and Taylor to reach 18 wickets for the series. Zaheer, meanwhile, induced two catches in the gully
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
as Zimbabwe lost the first four wickets for 21 runs. Masakadza and Streak survived until the close of play, adding a further 18, but the further 166 runs required to have India bat again looked enormous.
Streak was dismissed early in the morning, but spirited innings from Coventry and Blignaut, along with Masakadza's third Test fifty, delayed the result somewhat, preventing Zimbabwe from suffering their sixth successive innings defeat. Coventry added a belligerent 25 before holing out to Ganguly at midwicket, while Blignaut was the beneficiary of five dropped chances by the Indian fielders - including three in an over bowled by Zaheer Khan. At the other end, however, the 22-year-old Masakadza composed 71, his highest Test score for four years and his third-highest score overall. Masakadza and Blignaut raced away, adding 151 before lunch, and they took the score to 201 for 6 before an all too familiar collapse struck. Masakadza started it, trapped lbw by Pathan, and Dabengwa and Mahwire both went for ducks. Zimbabwe needed three runs to avoid the innings defeat, and once they were provided, Blignaut started swinging. He hit two sixes after the departure of Mahwire, but debutant Mwayenga deserted him, lbw to Zaheer for 1.
Needing 20 to win, India hardly needed the 15-minute innings break - they wrapped it up with 14 deliveries, as they were handed the game with four leg side
Leg side
The leg side, or on side, is defined to be a particular half of the field used to play the sport of cricket.From the point of view of a right-handed batsman facing the bowler, it is the left hand side of the cricket field...
bye
Bye (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bye is a run scored by the batting team when the ball has not been hit by the batsman and the ball has not hit the batsman's body.-Scoring byes:...
s from Blignaut. Sehwag had hit three fours in a routine unbeaten 14 as India made it to 20 for no loss with ease.
(Cricinfo scorecard)
External links
- Cricinfo - Zimbabwe v India 2005-06
- Cricinfo news bulletins and scorecards