India win it all: 2nd test v Zimbabwe, Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi

An unusually crisp and cold March greeted the players from India and Zimbabwe in the capital city New Delhi where the second and final Test was to be played. Down one-nil, the visitors had to win the match to square the series. The Feroz Shah Kotla wicket on first viewing looked like it was going to deteriorate and might not even last the five days. A batsman's party track and the spinners could look forward to the turn that the pitch would provide as the days went by.

Both sides made one change from the side that played in the city of oranges, Nagpur. Gavin Rennie made way for Dion Ebrahim for Zimbabwe and V V S Laxman was replaced by Virendra Sehwag for India. Stuart Carlisle won the all-important toss and elected to bat; Sourav Ganguly's bad luck with tosses continued as he had to do what the opposition demanded

Zimbabwe did not have the ideal start as the two openers, captain Carlisle and Trevor Gripper, were dismissed cheaply. Zimbabwe were in deep trouble, and the tale of woe seemed to continue. The silver lining came in the form of young Dion Ebrahim, playing in his 12th Test, who played an innings of character, surpassing his personal best but unfortunately missing out on what would have been his first Test century by only 6 runs. Scoring your first Test century is a feeling that is indescribable. There is a sense of achievement, a sense of fulfillment and above all a sense of confidence.

The other ray of hope was the positive in-touch Andy Flower who stroked the ball with immaculate touch. He inched his way to a much awaited century but fell eight short. One must admit that it was good to see Andy back in the limelight, after staying away in the shade for what seemed like a long time. The other star performance came from the dauntless and gutsy Travis Friend who battled almost alone to get his team to a respectable score. Eventually Zimbabwe were bowled out for 319.

For India, Anil Kumble added three more wickets to his tally, and Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath and Harbhajan Singh pocketed two wickets each, showing a satisfactory all-round display in the bowling department.

India started with a few hiccups, but seemed to settle down on a pitch that promised runs. Even though the star master - Tendulkar - could not score a large number, the captain Sourav Ganguly took the reins in his hand and got to his eighth Test century, but more importantly he broke the 28-month period where no hundreds were scored. The new sensation with the willow for India, the Tendulkaresque Virendra Sehwag, played a useful innings and helped India to get close to the Zimbabwean total. India were bowled out for 329.

For the visitors, Heath Streak impressed on a wicket that was nowhere near ideal for pace, as he claimed four wickets, and spinner Ray Price bowled sensibly as he added three more to his tally.

Zimbabwe failed to make a mark in the second innings as wickets fell like a pack of cards (for want of a better metaphor). The only performances worth mentioning were a 37 from the captain Carlisle and a gutsy 49 from Grant Flower. The spin twins for India ruled the day as they claimed all the wickets among themselves, with Harbhajan claiming six wickets and Anil Kumble adding four more to his ever increasing tally of Test wickets.

The hosts were required to get a modest 122 to win the match and thereby the series. But the number 122 will ring loud for some of the team as a few years ago they lost a Test match to the West Indies, failing to get to the same total. They started on the wrong note, losing wickets cheaply, but one solid partnership saved the day for the hosts. They won the match by four wickets on paper, but the real winners were the Zimbabweans, who put up a gutsy fight right till the end. They deserved to win, but then that is cricket: you don't always get what you deserve.

The honours went to the Indians, but the visitors can take heart from the fact that, in the eyes of many cricket lovers, the sheer willingness to perform did wonders for the game.

The Indian spin twins walked away with accolades, Harbhajan adjudged the man of the match and Anil Kumble the man of the series.

That was curtains on the two-match Test series between India and Zimbabwe, with the hosts taking the final bow. With every series there are things to be learnt, and in this never-ending quest for knowledge, teams enhance their greatness.

There will be another encounter, another place, another time and the game of cricket will continue to enthrall. One thing is for certain - the cricket show will go on!