The
Indian cricket team toured
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
between 15 and 25 October 1992. The series was played as a prelude for
India's tour of South Africa, and included just one
Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
and one
One Day International (ODI).
The tour began with a 50-over warm-up match, which the touring Indians won by 16 runs over the "Zimbabwe Cricket Union President's XI". ''
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...
'' criticised the "lifeless pitch" in the Test match, saying "both
owlingattacks were rendered innocuous".
Zimbabwe's captain,
David Houghton top-scored for his side in their first innings, scoring the country's maiden Test
century of 121. Zimbabwe established a 149-run first innings lead, but the match ended as a draw.
[ By drawing the match, Zimbabwe became the first team to avoid defeat in their inaugural Test match since Australia won the very first Test match in 1877.] In the solitary ODI, India won by 30 runs.
Following the series, India travelled to South Africa, becoming the first team to tour the country for 23 years after an international boycott due to the country's apartheid policies, while Zimbabwe hosted New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Zimbabwe achieved their first victory in Test cricket the following summer, when they beat the touring Pakistan team.
Tour matches
50 overs: Zimbabwe Cricket Union President's XI v Indians
The Indians were reduced to 76/5 after being put in to bat first, losing Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former international cricketer and former captain of India national cricket team. He is the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and was the mem ...
, Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...
and Sanjay Manjrekar cheaply. Vice-captain Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri (born 27 May 1962) is the former head coach of the India national cricket team, a cricket commentator and former captain of Indian Cricket Team. As a player, he played for the India national cricket team between 19 ...
then joined by Pravin Amre
Pravin Kalyan Amre (; born 14 August 1968) is an Indian cricketer who represented the Indian cricket team between 1991 and 1999. He played 11 Test matches and 37 One Day Internationals (ODIs).
Domestic career
At the domestic level, Amre played ...
put together 47 runs for the sixth wicket helping their team go past 200. Shastri also shone with the ball returning figures of 2/21 in his ten overs restricting Zimbabwe Cricket Union President's XI 17 short of the target. For the latter, Gavin Briant
Gavin Aubrey Briant (born 11 April 1969 in Salisbury - now Harare) is a former Zimbabwean international cricketer. Briant was a right-handed batsman and a cover fielder who also occasionally kept wicket. He played one Test match and five One D ...
remained unbeaten on 51.
Test series
Only Test
This was the first Test match to have three appointed umpires. British company National Grid sponsored English umpire Dickie Bird
Harold Dennis "Dickie" Bird, (born 19 April 1933), is an English retired international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a much-loved figure among players and viewing public, due to his excellence as an umpire, but al ...
so that he could fly to Zimbabwe for the match, the 48th Test match he had umpired. This equalled the world record for the most Test matches umpired. As a result, Bird umpired the whole match while the two Zimbabwean umpires present, Kantilal Kanjee and Ian Robinson Ian Robinson may refer to:
*Ian Robinson (Australian football umpire) (born 1946), Australian Football League umpire active in the 1970s and 1980s
*Ian Robinson (Australian politician) (1925–2017), Australian MP
*Ian Robinson (author) (1937–202 ...
, took to the field on alternate days. Because this was Zimbabwe's first ever Test match, ten of their eleven players were making their Test debut. The eleventh player, John Traicos
Athanasios John Traicos (born 17 May 1947) is a former cricketer who represented South Africa and Zimbabwe at international level. He was primarily an off spin bowler, and is one of a small number of cricketers to have played at the highest lev ...
, had previously played for South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
before they were excluded from Test cricket in 1970. He was the 14th cricketer to play Test cricket for two different countries, and he broke the record for the longest period between Test appearances: 22 years and 222 days.[
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, and India struggled to bowl for the first two days, lacking match practice and still adjusting to the altitude in Harare. Kevin Arnott and ]Grant Flower
Grant William Flower (born 20 December 1970) is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and former cricketer. He is the current batting coach of Sri Lanka cricket team and Sussex.
He is rated among the best Zimbabwean cricketers in history for his consistent ...
opened the batting for Zimbabwe with a 100-run partnership, though both batted cautiously and slowly. India took three wickets on the first day to leave Zimbabwe at 3/188 at stumps.[ A wicket fell early on the second day to bring David Houghton to the crease. Though Houghton, a mainstay in Zimbabwe's team, was known for aggressive batting, he curbed his instincts to score a slow maiden Test century. He reached his hundred after 305 minutes of batting, and he batted in total for 414 minutes, playing India's spin bowlers especially well. Houghton was the first player to score a century his country's inaugural Test match since ]Charles Bannerman
Charles Bannerman (3 July 1851 – 20 August 1930) was an English-born Australian cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he represented Australia in three Test matches between 1877 and 1879. At the domestic level, he played for the New South Wa ...
did for Australia in 1877. Houghton and Andy Flower
Andrew Flower (born 28 April 1968) is a Zimbabwean cricket coach and a former cricketer. As a cricketer, he captained the Zimbabwe national cricket team. He was Zimbabwe's wicket-keeper for more than 10 years and is, statistically, the greate ...
scored 165 runs in 68 overs for the sixth wicket, which took Zimbabwe to stumps on the second day, but all five remaining wickets fell quickly on the morning of the third day. Zimbabwe's first innings total was 456 all out, which easily beat 245 (scored by Australia in their first Test match) to become the highest ever score by a team in their inaugural Test match.[
The only ]fast bowler
Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is one of two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket, the other being spin bowling. Practitioners of pace bowling are usually known as ''fast'' bowlers, ''quicks'', or ''pacemen''. ...
in Zimbabwe's team was Eddo Brandes, who opened the bowling when Zimbabwe took to the field, but broke down after two overs and didn't take any further part in the match. Regardless, Zimbabwe's other bowlers excelled, particularly John Traicos and Gary Crocker
Gary John Crocker (born 16 May 1962) is a former Zimbabwean cricketer who played in three Test matches and six One Day Internationals in 1992 and 1993. He is a past student of Hamilton High School.
Born in Bulawayo, Crocker played in Zimbabwe ...
. Traicos dismissed Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...
caught and bowled for a duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
then had India's captain Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former international cricketer and former captain of India national cricket team. He is the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and was the mem ...
caught at slip for nine, while Crocker only conceded 11 runs in his first 13 overs, nine of which were maiden overs. India were reduced to 4/93 at stumps, still needing to score another 164 runs to avoid the follow-on
In the game of cricket, a team who batted second and scored significantly fewer runs than the team who batted first may be forced to follow-on: to take their second innings immediately after their first. The follow-on can be enforced by the team ...
.[
Traicos took three more wickets on day four to claim a five-wicket haul. He took five wickets for 86 runs in 50 overs, the best bowling figures of the match, but Zimbabwe lost the initiative when they decided to take a new ball, switching from Traicos to their seam bowlers. This change suited the Indian batsmen, ]Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (Pronunciation: əpiːl deːʋ born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, and was named by '' Wisden'' as the Indian Cricketer of the Cen ...
and Sanjay Manjrekar. Kapil Dev scored 60 runs and Manjrekar scored a century. Manjrekar's century was the fifth slowest Test century, and the slowest ever by an Indian batsman. It took him 500 minutes of batting, and he had faced 397 balls. Manjrekar reached his century just before stumps on the fourth day, and India finished the day with 7/278.[
Manjrekar was caught at backward point early on day five, and India were all out for 307 just 45 minutes later. As there was not enough time left for a result either, Zimbabwe slowly batted out a draw. In so doing, Zimbabwe became the first team to avoid losing their first Test match since Australia in 1876/77, when the first Test match was played.][
]
ODI series
Only ODI
The match was played in front of a crowd of 8,000, and Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field. After India lost both of their opening batsmen with only one run scored, their innings was built around Sanjay Manjrekar, who top-scored for India with 70 runs. This lifted India to 239 all out. The Flower brothers (Andy
Andy may refer to:
People
* Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds
* Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...
and Grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
* Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
* Grant, Inyo County, ...
) opened the batting for Zimbabwe and got them off to a good start, but after the middle order collapsed only Gary Crocker
Gary John Crocker (born 16 May 1962) is a former Zimbabwean cricketer who played in three Test matches and six One Day Internationals in 1992 and 1993. He is a past student of Hamilton High School.
Born in Bulawayo, Crocker played in Zimbabwe ...
showed any resistance against the Indian bowlers. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 209 and lost by 30 runs.
References
External links
Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian cricket team in Zimbabwe in 1992-93
1992 in Indian cricket
1992 in Zimbabwean cricket
1992-93
International cricket competitions from 1991–92 to 1994
Zimbabwean cricket seasons from 1980–81 to 1999–2000