India might have won the Test series 2-0 but it was never a walkover. At the start of the series, no one would have even thought this bunch of players from Zimbabwe as being capable of giving the Indian team a scare. Their coach Geoff Marsh has done a wonderful job and most importantly made these youngsters believe in themselves, a quality that will keep them in good stead.

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Look at someone like Raymond Price; he epitomises what every spinner should be. I am very much impressed by this youngster's talent and most importantly his temperament. He has showed the world that all it takes is to have the heart to succeed. Here is a youngster who was not daunted by the task of bowling at even someone like Sachin Tendulkar.

If Ashley Giles used a defensive line to stifle the little master, Price actually had the premier batsman on the run in Delhi with some aggressive spin bowling. It is a testimony to the spinner's superior skills that on the final morning, Tendulkar tried to avoid playing Price for almost an hour. It was only in the process that the little master scored 42 valuable runs, without which India would have not made it past the meagre victory target of 122 runs.

If you were to ask me, Price was the find of the series. A left-arm spinner in full flight is such a joy to watch and there was none better than my good friend Bishen Singh Bedi. Price definitely has it in him to make it to the top.

It is quite a surprising thing that India wins when the spinners bowl well. Even though Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh bowled well, it should not be forgotten that after having Zimbabwe on the mat at 65/3, we allowed them to make 329 in the first innings. Had Zimbabwe been bowled out cheaply in the first innings, the puffing and panting on the last day could have been very well avoided.

This Test series has also brought the falling umpiring standards to the fore. The real test for the umpires is when they have to make decisions under pressure. There was a lot of pressure in this Test series and any viewer would have realised the importance of the lbw decision that went in favour of Harbhajan Singh while he was batting on the final day. It was not an isolated case, there were mistakes aplenty, which takes the charm away from this wonderful game.

Even though they lost the Test, Zimbabwe can take heart from the fact that they were definitely the better team in Delhi.

Sourav Ganguly, for his part, has finally got the monkey off his back with a Test hundred. It should count as a redeeming knock albeit one lacking in conviction. Looking back at his batting, Ganguly would realise that the he owns the responsibility for not scoring a first class hundred in 28 months. His failure in the second innings at Delhi is a reminder that he still has a lot of work to do.

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It was also good to see Virender Sehwag score runs in his explosive fashion, taking the pressure off Ganguly. This youngster adds a new dimension to India's middle-order batting and must count as India's trump card for the 2003 World Cup.

India, though, never seems to learn the lessons. On a pitch that had cracks all over it on the first day, leaving out Sarandeep Singh was a very bad mistake. Planning sadly has never been Indian cricket's forte. Anil Kumble is being asked to bowl more than what he should be, at this rate he will be completely worn out by the time we return from England.

Deep Dasgupta's continued mediocre show behind the stumps has to end now. Wicketkeeping is a specialist job that has a direct bearing on the bowlers' confidence. Test cricket is not the arena to hone such specialised skills. The need of the hour is for a wicketkeeper who can live up to the pressure behind the stumps. Ajay Ratra has his chances to prove that he is up to the task in the upcoming one-day series.

The Indian ground fielding, meanwhile, has been very poor throughout the Test series. The superiority of the Zimbabweans, in this area, will come to the fore in the one-day series.

Without Tendulkar and the injured Sehwag, India's batting suddenly looks thin. I should also question the selector's wisdom of picking Shiv Sundar Das for the one- dayers. Even ignoring the fact that we are missing two explosive batsmen in the side, someone like Yuvraj Singh must be a definite starter in the one-day line up. No matter what, it promises to be a very interesting one-day series.

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