Close Zimbabwe 274 for 7 (A Flower 145, Khan 4 for 45) lost to India 288 for 6 (Kaif 111*, Dravid 71, Hondo 4 for 60) by 14 runs
Scorecard

Three grand batting efforts lit up a match with extreme fluctuations, until Zimbabwe finally had 24 to score off the final six balls. They fell short by 14, with Zaheer Khan ending the match by bowling Sean Ervine off the last ball of the 50th over to pick up his fourth wicket. Andy Flower (145 off 164) almost gave Zimbabwe a fairytale ending, after a dream beginning turned into a nightmare for his side. They had India reeling at 87 for 5 inside the first 15 overs after Sourav Ganguly won the toss, but ended chasing 288.

Andy Flower, dropped by Ashish Nehra off Zaheer Khan before he had reached 30, fought valiantly. But ultimately, lack of substantial partnerships made the difference. When Grant Flower (33) fell with the score at 127 for 3 in the 27th over, Zimbabwe still had a good chance if the remaining batsmen supported the elder Flower. But Stuart Carlisle (2) fell just two runs later, and the target seemed far away.

With little support and tight Indian bowling in the final overs, Zimbabwe's challenge ended in the 49th, when Flower's desperate slog off Tendulkar ended down Ganguly's throat at cover. His 146 was the third-highest individual score in a losing cause in one-day internationals. Ganguly's brave move to have Tendulkar bowling the final overs had worked. Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh bowled overs 46 and 47 for only seven runs. It helped shoot up the asking rate to double figures and just about ended Zimbabwe's hopes.

India's win was largely due to two consistent heroes. Mohammad Kaif (111* and the Man of Match) and Rahul Dravid (71) carried on their rescue-India mission from the England tour. Their well-compiled 117-run partnership rebuilt an innings that was in tatters by the 15th over. When Dravid departed, with a run-out breaking the stand, the score was 204 for 6 with 13 overs to go. Zimbabwe had let the victim off the hook by allowing the Dravid and Kaif to consolidate with easy singles.

Then Kaif, with Anil Kumble, continued his perfect percentage cricket, unleashing the occasional big shot, like a six over midwicket off Grant Flower and two Marillier-like taps to fine leg for fours. Kaif's innings confirmed his growing ability to handle any crisis without losing hope, and was the highest score in a one-day international by a No. 7 batsman. They added 84 in under 13 overs, which gave the Indian bowlers a healthy 288 to defend.

Such a target appeared unlikely when Douglas Hondo ran through the Indian top order with wicket-taking quicker balls sneaked in among the slower ones that he delivered. He snaffled Ganguly (13), Dinesh Mongia (0), Tendulkar (7) and Yuvraj Singh (3). The last time Hondo took four in an Indian innings, at Kochi, Zimbabwe chased 191 and won by six wickets.

The first 17 overs reflected the weird character of the Indian innings, with the score reading 117 for 5 with the run rate touching seven an over. When Virender Sehwag (48) and Ganguly (13) started with an opening barrage that produced 25 in the first three, India looked en route to an easy win. But the batsmen played too many shots too early, and perished.

India's plight would have been worse if Heath Streak, Zimbabwe's captain, had not gone on the defensive and allowed Dravid and Kaif to rebuild the innings by pushing a lot of singles. That defensive attitude cost Zimbabwe, as Kaif's edge off Ray Price flew at catchable height past the non-existent first slip. That shot took the partnership past the 100 mark.

Kaif hit his first boundary off the 60th ball he faced, going down on his knee and pulling Douglas Marillier to the square-leg boundary. But he was already coasting on a strike-rate of over 60. His final flourish produced 26 runs off the last two overs of the innings. The last two Indian wickets had added 201, and this time Hondo's four wickets came in a losing effort.

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