Zimbabwe will have to be in top form to match the Indians

After a strong showing in the warm-up matches, although the opposition was disappointing, India must go into the First Test match against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club tomorrow as favourites. Their batsmen have all scored runs, although Sadagoppan Ramesh was perhaps not very convincing, and their bowlers, Javagal Srinath and Harbhajan Singh especially, have struck good form.

Zimbabwe, however, are unpredictable. When they are good, they are very, very good, but when they are bad they are abysmal. On their good days they can give any side in the world a good game, although they do have difficulty in putting five together for a Test match. In the one-day arena they have twice beaten South Africa and came within a whisker of beating Australia in Perth earlier this year. And the Indian tourists will not need reminding of what happened in the one-off Test in Harare in 1998/99 season.

The problem is that nobody can be quite sure whether Zimbabwe will be good or bad. Team selection has caused problems with morale this season, as was seen against New Zealand, and there will doubtless be further discontent among the players who feel that their best team is not being selected.

Zimbabwe have their usual middle-order batting line-up of Stuart Carlisle, Alistair Campbell, Andy Flower and Grant Flower, with Guy Whittall opening the innings again. Dion Ebrahim, despite his failures for the CFX Academy against the tourists, is given another chance, but he is not a natural opening batsman and appears far from confident. Gavin Rennie, who scored 130 runs in his last Test match, has been made twelfth man.

In the bowling department, left-arm swing bowler Bryan Strang has again been overlooked, making it more difficult for the Zimbabwe attack to put the brakes on the rampant Indian batting. Heath Streak will be backed up by Brighton Watambwa, who made a promising debut against Bangladesh; unpredictable all-rounder Andy Blignaut; and Travis Friend, who is expected to make his Test debut. With all due respect, none has the experience or ability to tie up an end that Strang has so often shown.

There is a surprise in the choice of spin bowler. Leg-spinner Brian Murphy played against Bangladesh in Bulawayo, only to be dropped in Harare, and his replacement, left-arm spinner Raymond Price, bowled superbly to take seven wickets. Now Price has been dropped and Murphy reinstated.

The weather is likely to be cool and clear, and the Queens Sports Club pitch has a reputation for quality. Against Bangladesh it had more grass than usual, but was rather on the slow side and did not help the seamers unduly. It could well play the same this time.

The match may hinge on how well the Indian batsmen cope with Heath Streak and his fellow seamers, and whether there is enough bounce in the pitch to disturb them. Streak's fellow destroyer of the last tour, Henry Olonga, still not in best form or fitness, has been omitted, and his replacements, although talented, are probably not capable of shattering the powerful Indian line-up.

Assuming the Indian batting continues its all-conquering path, the bowlers will then have to dismiss Zimbabwe twice to win the match, and in Srinath and Harbhajan they have potential match-winners for most conditions. Zimbabwe will need to be on the top of their form, combined with peak mental toughness and confidence, to match their visitors. It appears unlikely, but Zimbabwe can never quite be written off.