Close India 171 for 4 (Ganguly 78*, Tendulkar 36) trail Zimbabwe 329 all out (Ebrahim 94, Andy Flower 92) by 158 runs
scorecard

Zimbabwe took all the points on the second day with a splendid bowling performance to keep the formidable Indian batting order in check. After being bowled out for 329, about 25 minutes before lunch, the Zimbabweans reined in India's batsmen for more than two sessions, restricting them to a measly run rate of 2.55.

Sourav Ganguly promoted himself to No. 3 and played his way back into form with a fluent, unbeaten 78, only his second 50 in 26 innings. Virender Sehwag showed some urgency in the last half-hour, racing to 16 off 24 balls, but for most of the day, the batsmen struggled on a pitch which lacked pace and bounce.

The outstanding bowler was undoubtedly Ray Price. Coming on to bowl almost an hour before tea, he continued unchanged right through the final session, sending down 26 overs on the trot, and conceding a mere 47 runs.

His battle with Sachin Tendulkar in the final session was fascinating. Tendulkar had got off to his usual fluent start, creaming four fours off Travis Friend before tea to race to 24 off 39 balls. Everything pointed towards a run-riot in the final session.

However, Price had other ideas. Settling into a rhythm immediately, he tested and teased Tendulkar with clever variations in turn, trajectory and pace. Tendulkar went without a run for 55 minutes, and 39 balls, and was lucky to survive two confident appeals for lbw. The first time, Price beat his defence with extra spin, and the ball hit the back pad in line with middle and off. Umpire Asoka de Silva ruled that it would have missed off stump.

Then an arm ball slid through Tendulkar's defences and struck his pad in line with leg stump. This time, de Silva decided that the ball was going down leg side. Even so, it was masterful bowling, and India added only 20 in 15 overs.

Price finally had his man with another straighter one that kept low and trapped Tendulkar plumb in front for 36 (142 for 3). Rahul Dravid followed two runs later, run out for 1 as Friend hit the stumps from mid-on. A good day in the field had just got even better.

At the other end, Ganguly was more comfortable. The slow surface was perfect for him – it allowed him to rock back and pull the seamers, notably Friend, with aplomb. And once he got a start, the feet started moving better, and a few flowing shots on the off side were a throwback to the Ganguly of old. He was circumspect against Price, but handled him much better than Tendulkar. And when Grant Flower came into the attack, Ganguly deposited him over long-on for a six.

Earlier, Zimbabwe's innings folded for the addition of 69 runs. Dion Ebrahim added 12 to his overnight 82 when Srinath trapped him in front. The ball nipped back off the seam, but struck Ebrahim on the top of the roll of his pad, and would have climbed over the top of the stumps. De Silva, who has had an excellent match so far, thought otherwise, and Ebrahim trudged back for 94 (289 for 7).

Taibu resisted briefly, but Anil Kumble struck twice in one over. First, he trapped Taibu lbw on the sweep for 13 (310 for 8), then two balls later, fired in a yorker that comprehensively castled Price for 0.

India survived four overs before lunch, but Heath Streak gave Zimbabwe the breakthrough shortly after, when Das nicked a waist-high ball down the leg side and Taibu moved to his left fluently to complete the catch (24 for 1). It wasn't the best ball Streak bowled in the match, but he would feel justice had been done: he had been denied a close lbw shout against Das in his first over. Das made just 13.

Deep Dasgupta once again looked the part at the top of the order, playing close to the body and showing excellent judgement around the off stump. He was done in by a slow full toss from Friend. Expecting a beamer, he ducked, but the ball struck him low on the pad and plumb in front of his stumps. He was out for 19 (58 for 2).

Tendulkar walked in to a huge roar, but by the time Price was done with him, the crowd was hushed into silence. Sehwag showed refreshing positive intent, stroking Price twice through mid-on for four. The rest of India's batsmen will have to show more of that attitude if they are to press for a win. Zimbabwe, though, can be well pleased with their day's work.

Teams
India 1 Shiv Sunder Das, 2 Deep Dasgupta (wk), 3 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Rahul Dravid, 6 Virender Sehwag, 7 Sanjay Bangar, 8 Anil Kumble, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Javagal Srinath.
Zimbabwe 1 Stuart Carlisle (capt), 2 Trevor Gripper, 3 Alistair Campbell, 4 Andy Flower, 5 Dion Ebrahim, 6 Grant Flower, 7 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 8 Heath Streak, 9 Travis Friend, 10 Ray Price, 11 Brighton Watambwa.

S Rajesh is a sub-editor with Wisden.com India.

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