Hemang Badani gave Sachin Tendulkar admirable support and made an unbeaten 52 off 85 balls. The two batsmen put together an unbroken partnership of 135 for the second wicket to take India past the winning target. Badani hit a huge six and five boundaries in his knock. The combination of a right-hander and a left-hander in the middle unsettled the Zimbabwe bowlers. Badani's knock was crucial in the sense that he played in the place of the prolific scorer VVS Laxman, who was nursing an injured finger.