Sharma century cannot stop rampant Zimbabwe

by John Kelley

CRICKET: BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, May 29, 2010: A maiden century for India by Rohit Sharma was not enough to stop Zimbabwe from snatching a dramatic victory in the first one-day international of a three-way series here on Friday.

The home team won at a gallop with 10 balls and six wickets to spare in the first of two matches between them in a series which also includes Sri Lanka.

All six top Zimbabwe batsmen, led by man-of-the-match Brendan Taylor, contributed significantly towards a surprise victory as they overtook an India total of 285-5 to record an impressive 289-4 in reply.

The home team performed with skill and sometimes disdain, setting about their task of overtaking the Indian effort in both workmanlike and spectacular manner, as varying situations demanded.

India’s new captain Suresh Raina, who had won the toss and opted to bat, praised the Zimbabwe batsmen but blamed the defeat more on the inexperience of his team.

“Some of them have never played at this level,” he explained. “However we should have been able to defend 285 runs.”

Taylor’s innings of 81 runs, cut short with a boundary catch when approaching his second ODI century, was backed up principally by Craig Ervine in his first ODI innings for Zimbabwe.

He made 67 with Hamilton Masakadza contributing 46.

Sharma’s hundred earlier in the day was a mix of caution and boundary hunting as he gained confidence. He came in when India had lost three wickets for 61 and were momentarily on the back foot.

Their recovery from this, led by Sharma, came with a flurry of boundaries in later overs and 285 runs seemed likely to be sufficient to beat a home team with no great record in internationals.

But the Zimbabweans, who have done their Test cricket return aspirations a boost with this result, set about the task with inspiration and confidence.

Certainly the India bowling was not up to scratch and will have to be tightened up for their next match, against Sri Lanka here on Sunday.

The one blot on Zimbabwe’s day was the bowling performance of new captain Elton Chigumbura, who contrived to give away no fewer than 20 wides in his two overs - something for the Guinness Book of Records if they had such a category.

Chigumbura said afterwards he had problems with his technique but he praised his colleagues for their “superb overall performance.”

Brendan Taylor took three catches in the India innings, giving him an especially memorable day.

India, who blamed their defeat on youth and inexperience, will have to regroup in the next two days, aware that the Sri Lankans are ready to pounce.