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At lunchtime it looked so promising - good fielding and bowling by Zimbabwe had held India back to 226, a target which should have been chasable, but once again Zim were unable to finish the job. This match report is not for the easily upset…

Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to field, while Sourav Ganguly and Venugopal Rao (replacing the ill Sehwag) opened the batting for India. Zimbabwe immediately drew blood, Taibu taking a diving catch behind to remove Venugopal Rao off a swinging delivery from Streak in the first over with only 3 extras on the board for India. Streak and Mawhire did a good job of keeping the run-rate down in the early overs (3.67 at the end of the 9th, when Mawhire was replaced by Anthony Ireland) while also drawing the Indian batsmen into some awkward moments. India then dug in and started to slowly build the score, until the 16th over when Ganguly took a hook at one heading down leg side, which went straight to Coventry for an easy catch. Next down was Dravid, clean bowled by Prosper Utseya for 14 in the final ball of the 26th - a superb delivery that turned in from outside off stump. Kaif did cause Zimbabwe some worries, before being caught & bowled by Ewing (an excellent catch, diving between Yuvraj Singh’s legs) in the 35th over for 65.

Zimbabwe’s fielding was much better in this game than in their last few matches, with players far more willing to throw themselves around to prevent runs than they were against New Zealand. Fielding has traditionally been one of Zimbabwe’s strengths, so the return to normal service was good to see. Bowling was also much improved, with all the bowlers causing India some degree of problems and keeping India restricted to under 3.5 an over up until the 39th over, from where Yuvraj and Dhoni began to step on the gas in an attempt to get India to a total they would be happy defending. Together they rattled up the runs, until Dhoni fell in the final over for 56, caught in the deep by Mawhire off Ireland’s bowling, followed next ball by Agarkar, caught by Streak. By the end of the allotted 50 overs, India had picked up 226 for the loss of 6 wickets, at a rate of 4.52 per over.

Kaif (65) and Dhoni (56) top-scored for India, while Ireland (3 for 54 from 10 overs) and Streak (1 for 32 from 10 overs) were the pick of the Zimbabwean bowling.

After a good performance in the field and with an achievable target to chase, Zimbabwe in theory were in with a chance of securing the win - although recent form would give even the most dedicated fan reason to be sceptical. Being the only Zimbabwean batsmen to show any sort of recent form, Taibu and Heath were moved up the batting order to 4th and 5th respectively, while Supersub Sibanda was slotted into the lineup at number 3. Needing 227 to win (4.6 per over) and facing the same opening attack that decimated New Zealand, openers Brendan Taylor and Stuart Carlisle took a cautious approach to the opening overs, but not cautious enough as Taylor fell with the score on 7, after leaving a delivery from Pathan that quickly turned back into his off stump. Sibanda followed with the score on 17, caught & bowled off Akargar’s first ball, with Hamilton Masakadza going LBW two balls later. Suddenly Zimbabwe were tottering at 17/3, with the top order again letting the team down. Taibu’s arrival briefly brought an increase in the runrate, but Carlisle was caught LBW in the 11th, bringing Streak to the crease at 29/4.

Normally the Taibu / Streak combo would bring some mid-innings stability to Zimbabwe, but not today. With just one run added, Taibu was caught by Ganguly off the bowling of Pathan for just 4 runs, and the score moved on to 30/5. Coventry made a brief appearance before playing on 2 balls later (30/6), Andy Blignaut was another victim of LBW at the end of the 14th (35/7), Ewing played and missed the fourth ball he faced (36/8), and Mawhire was clean bowled for 4 (43/9). Last man out was Prosper Utseya, caught by Ganuly off Harbajahn for 11 in the 25th over. The final score was 65.

The only Zimbabwe batsman to do anything worthwhile was Streak, at 18 not out. The final wicket partnership between Heath and Utseya was the best Zimbabwe could produce, and even then only chalked up 22 runs. For India, Irfan Pathan took 5 for 27 from his 10 overs, with Agarkar responsible for 4 wickets at a cost of 18 runs off 9 overs.

At lunchtime, with India pegged back to a target most teams would be happy to chase & the team having played well in the field, I was daring to think Zimbabwe could actually manage to win this match. Instead, the batsmen collapsed to yet another dismal total which will no doubt prompt another round of barbed comments about the ‘integrity of cricket’. If this cloud has a silver lining, it’s that Zim were able to compete in the field, and compete well. If only the batting could have matched the fielding and bowling this story may have had a different ending, but yet again it just wasn’t to be. The return match against New Zealand is on Wednesday - it seems unlikely the result will be anything but another drubbing.

India 226/6 (50 overs), Zimbabwe 65 all out (24.3 overs)
India win by 161 runs

Full scorecard available here: BBC Sport