Indians in Zimbabwe in 2005-06
| Indian cricket team in Zimbabwe in 2005 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
||
| India | Zimbabwe | ||
| Dates | 9 July – 22 September 2005 | ||
| Captains | Sourav Ganguly | Tatenda Taibu | |
| Test series | |||
| Result | India won the 2-match series 2–0 | ||
| Most runs | Rahul Dravid (175) | Andy Blignaut (127) | |
| Most wickets | Irfan Pathan (21) |
Heath Streak (6) Blessing Mahwire (6) |
|
| Player of the series | Irfan Pathan (Ind) | ||
The Indian cricket team toured Zimbabwe for cricket matches in August and September 2005. The Indians played in the Videocon Tri-Series in Zimbabwe, winning three of five matches but losing the final to finish second in the three-team tournament, and they played Zimbabwe for two Test matches in September 2005. The hosts Zimbabwe were ninth out of ten teams in the ICC Test Championship, with their last win against the top eight Test nations coming in June 2001, against India. They did not manage to win a match here either, as India, led by the performances of fast bowler Irfan Pathan (who took 21 wickets), won the series 2–0 after an innings win in the first Test and a 10-wicket win in the second. India consolidated their third place in the Test championship with the win, which was also their first series win in Zimbabwe in four attempts.
This was also the final Test match contested in Zimbabwe before the team was suspended from Test cricket.
India won three of five matches in this tournament, beating Zimbabwe twice in the group stage (by 161 runs and four wickets), and New Zealand once, but they lost the final and thus finished second out of the three teams.
Match drawn
Dion Ebrahim fought off the bowling efforts of Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Anil Kumble to make 169 for Zimbabwe Board XI against India – the only Zimbabwean top-order batsman to pass 20, although number nine Keith Dabengwa made 60. Zimbabwe declared on 294 for 9, Kumble having taken five for 48, while Khan and Balaji leaked runs. Then, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid made centuries, and India eased to 572 for 9, with Graeme Cremer picking up four wickets. Balaji picked up the wicket of Terry Duffin for 0, but Hamilton Masakadza and Brendan Taylor added 96 as Zimbabwe batted out for the draw. [1]
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