Nehra, Das provide the silver lining

When Ajit Agarkar bowled one overpitched and outside the off stump for Andy Flower to drive to the cover boundary, hopes of setting a 15-year ignominous record straight evaporated. Zimbabwe had won the second and final Test at Harare by four wickets and squared the series. And yet, when Sourav Ganguly went out to the toss at Bulawayo, the series win in England in 1986 must have been at the top of his mind. The tour of Zimbabwe was, if nothing else, India's best chance of winning a Test series outside the subcontinent in 15 years. On that count Ganguly and his men failed.

To say the tour as a whole was an exercise in futility would be carrying things too far. One has to begin with the wintry morning of June 7 in Bulawayo when Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak won the toss and elected to bat first on a good wicket. In just the sixth over of the day, Ashish Nehra had his first Test wicket since February 1999 when Guy Whittal dragged one from outside the off stump and disturbed the timber. The young left arm seamer from Delhi went on to be India's best bowler in his debut series snaring 11 wickets at an average of less than 20. Showing good control, Nehra was consistent with both line and length. Add to this his ability to swing the ball both ways and you have the recipe for a very handy bowler. A good clean action also certainly helps. With the foundations laid, Nehra now needs to add a slower ball and a yorker to his repertoire and you can be sure he will be a frontline bowler for India for years to come.

If Nehra's speedy acclimatisation at the highest level was one positive to come out of the series, the way in which Shiv Sunder Das led the Indian charge with the willow was yet another saving grace. The diminutive opener from Orissa showed a technique and poise at the top of the order that has seldom been exhibited in recent years. Knowing what deliveries to leave and how to play at ones that had to be tackled, Das amassed 239 runs at an average of just under 80. Easily the most prolific batsman of either side, Das walked away with the man of the series award.

On the back of a mediocre Zimbabwean effort with the bat and some disciplined cricket India went one up in the series. However, there was not much to write home about in the days that came after the fourth and final day of the first Test. Sadagoppan Ramesh developed a bad back, just when speculations about him being dropped were doing the rounds. The problem that has dogged Indian cricket for many years now, the opening slot, reared its troublesome head once more. Hemang Badani, unable to resist the temptation of a chance at Test cricket offered up his services. After making a forgettable debut (lbw Brighton Watambwa for 2) Badani was relegated to the middle order in the second innings of the same Test.

Scoring 237 and 234 is not going to win you many Test matches. It certainly did not win India the second Test at Harare. Further weakened by the inexplicable inclusion of Ajit Agarkar ahead of Zaheer Khan (4 wickets in the first Test) India went on to lose in under four days. The form of the Indian captain is another extremely worrying aspect. Sourav Ganguly made 5,9 and 0 the three times he was called upon to bat. VVS Laxman, if anything, looked like he suffered from exactly the opposite problem as his skipper. In what could be the best form of his life, Laxman has looked well set, positive and of a very high pedigree and yet did not go on to make even a half century.

In all this however one cannot discount the role of Andy Flower and his mates. Still averaging over 100 against India, Flower was unstoppable even as brother Grant joined the party. Young speedster Brighton Watambwa impressed and Andy Blignaut picked up his second five wicket haul in just four Tests. Stuart Carlisle batting around Zimbabwe's main batsmen helped himself to a couple of gritty half centuries. Coach Carl Rackemann would not have much reason to complain at his team's performance.

At the end of the day, the Test series that just concluded was a case of being so near and yet so far for the visitors. The opportunity was there, and India let it slip.