India defeated Zimbabwe by 24 runs in the sixth match of the VB tri-series in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Chasing 256 for victory, Sean Ervine (39 off 27 balls) and Dion Ebrahim (39 off 30 balls) batted well to take the Zimbabweans close to registering their first win in the tournament, but the rest of the batsmen failed to chip in.
India skipper Sourav Ganguly took three wickets, three catches and effected two run-outs to check Zimbabwe's march.
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Earlier, Rahul Dravid, 84, and Yuvraj Singh, 69, held up the Indian innings after it was rocked early. Sean Ervine claimed three wickets for 47 runs for the Zimbabweans.
India innings
Wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel replaced Sachin Tendulkar, who twisted his ankle in the match against Australia on Sunday, so Rahul Dravid got a well-deserved rest from wicket-keeping duties.
Zimbabwe made two changes, dropping Visu Sibanda and Stuart Matsikenyeri in favour of Stuart Carlisle, who is back from a thigh injury, and all-rounder Travis Friend.
The conditions were slightly overcast at the start of play, but that did not deter Ganguly from electing to bat after winning the toss.
With Tendulkar indisposed, Patel was given the opportunity to open the innings with Ganguly. The duo started off pretty well, with Patel scoring at a run a ball for his first 18 runs. But then he got stuck in a rut and managed to score only one run off the next 11 balls.
The frustration was evident when he went for a slog over mid-wicket and only succeeded in playing on to the stumps. The opening partnership was worth 41.
V V S Laxman, who was in next, and Ganguly tried to consolidate the innings but their partnership came to an end when the Indian skipper was dismissed.
The short ball, directed at the body, proved to be Ganguly's bane once again. Caught in an awkward position, the ball hit the splice of the bat and seemed to be looping over Douglas Hondo, at short fine-leg, but the fielder took a brilliant one-handed catch, even as he moved backwards, much to the delight of Ervine.
Rahul Dravid took Ganguly's place in the middle. But Laxman did not last too long. The right-hander was dismissed chasing a wide delivery from Ervine that he could have very well left alone. India were 74-3 at this stage and a few more wickets would have put Zimbabwe in the driver's seat.
But Yuvraj Singh helped Dravid stabilize the innings with some good, thoughtful cricket. They judged their singles and two's to perfection and did not try anything silly as they set about repairing the innings.
The duo put on 51 runs between the 25th and 35th in a controlled batting display that served India's purpose perfectly.
The spinners did a good job for the Zimbabweans, keeping things in check and preventing the Indian batsmen from getting away. The perseverance paid off when Price struck off the last ball of his spell. The ball turned sharply from outside Yuvraj's off-stump to find the gap between bat and pad.
Yuvraj was gone for a well-made 69 that came off just 76 balls and included just three boundaries. His innings included 38 singles, and that outlined the workmanlike quality of his batting today. The partnership for the fourth wicket was worth 114 runs.
Rohan Gavaskar carried on the good work and scored a run-a-ball 22 as India looked to get some quick runs in the slog overs. Gavaskar was clean bowled when he tried to manufacture a shot off Heath Streak in the second last over of the innings.
Dravid was gone in the next over; a full toss from Ervine was hit straight to the safe hands of Streak in the covers. His 84 off 106 balls was the cornerstone of the Indian innings.
The Indians ended up with 255 for 6 on a pitch that will get slower as the game goes on.
Zimbabwe Innings
While the spinners were the most impressive bowlers for the African nation, it was the seamers who did the job for Ganguly.
The Indians started off with two maidens before Grant Flower smashed Ashish Nehra through the covers for a four to get the first runs on the board for the Zimbabweans.
Things progressed steadily for Zimbabwe until the eighth over, when Vermuelen was struck on the head by a bouncer from Irfan Pathan. The batsman attempted to play the hook but the ball hit the top edge of the bat and somehow forced it's way through the grill to hit him just above the right eye.
He went off the field immediately. It was later diagnosed that he suffered a depressed fracture that will need surgery.
Travis Friend, who was surprisingly not given a bowl, was in next. But he made just seven runs off 19 balls before Ganguly caught him out of the crease with a direct hit. (66-1)
Flower (36) was back in the hut after the addition of four runs to the total. Nehra had kept the opener on a tight leash by not giving him any room to play his shots. A frustrated Flower gave him the charge charge and holed out to Laxman in the sweeper's position at deep cover.
After this, the Zimbabweans never looked like they were in the game. They lost wickets at regular intervals and never challenged the Indian bowlers until Ervine got to the wicket.
Andy Blignaut (1), Streak (3), Taibu (15) were all dismissed quickly.
Carlisle made a patient 34, without any boundaries, off 61 balls to hold the innings together before Ganguly claimed his third wicket. It was a lucky dismissal. Parthiv fumbled with the catch and was relieved to see the ball firmly lodged in his pad.
That got Dion Ebrahim and Ervine together. The two chanced their arm around and runs started to come at a good rate, quick enough to worry the Indians. Ervine led the way and Ebrahim followed. The duo ran their ones and twos brilliantly and hit the odd boundary. Suddenly it seemed as if Zimbabwe had a chance of winning the match. But Ervine was dismissed for 39 off just 27 balls, including four boundaries at a crucial juncture.
His 49-run partnership with Ebrahim off just 40 balls gave the Zimbabwean innings much-needed momentum. Balaji, brought back into the attack after Ganguly and Kumble had been carted around the park, kept the ball right upto the batsman, giving them no room at all.
Then Ervine tried to smash the ball straight through the covers but hit it straight to Ganguly.
Price was in next and he surprised one and all as he threw his bat around to put on 35 runs off just 20 balls with Ebrahim.
The Indians were feeling the tension and one could feel the nervousness of the players. But Pathan struck a vital blow when he got Ebrahim's wicket. The Zimbabwe batsman (39 off 30 balls) mis-hit a full toss from the left-armer to Ganguly, who made no mistake.
Hondo was run-out off the next ball and the innings came to an end.
Zimbabwe certainly put up a good fight, but the young Indian team did well to come out tops.
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