Statistical highlights: 1st day at Bulawayo

Mohandas Menon

  After two official tours to Zimbabwe in 1992 and 1998, India was appearing at this venue for the first time. Its previous two Tests were played at Harare.

  For the second time in its Test history since 1932 India went in to a Test match with two genuine left-arm pace bowlers (Nehra and Zaheer). However Umesh Kulkarni and Rusi Surti remain so far the only bowlers to have actually opened the Indian bowling attack - against Australia at Adelaide, Brisbane & Sydney and against New Zealand at Christchurch. Some of the other such instances occurred were when left-arm pace bowlers - Hiralal Gaekwad and Nyalchand Shah (against Pakistan at Lucknow, 1952-53) and Karsan Ghavri and Dhiraj Parsana (against West Indies at Madras and Delhi, 1978-79) have also played together in the same Test match. However it should be noted that all the four players mentioned above also used to bowl the 'slow' stuff.

  Andy Flower and Alistair Campbell, who are appearing in their 51st Test match, have not missed any of Zimbabwe's Test matches since October 1992. Flower, in fact has not even missed a single limited-over international match for Zimbabwe since February 1992, playing in all 172 matches!

  Dion Ebrahim while playing in his only third Test match and fourth innings has now been run out for the second time. In fact it was his second run-out in a row since in the previous innings he batted he was out in a similar fashion against Bangladesh at Harare in April this year.

  Andy Flower (51) scored his eighth score of fifty-plus in the last nine innings. His scores in the last ten innings since September last year now read as: 48 & 65; 183* & 70; 55 & 232*; 79; 73; 23; 51 - 879 runs (avg. 109.88) in seven matches with two hundreds and six fifties!

  The three catches by Sameer Dighe equals the best by an Indian keeper against Zimbabwe. Vijay Dahiya too had three catches against Zimbabwe in Nagpur in November last year.

  Zimbabwe's total of 173 was its lowest against India in the six Tests between the two countries. Its previous lowest was the 201 it made at Delhi in March 1993. Interestingly India's lowest against Zimbabwe is also 173 at Harare in October 1998.

  The last occasion India was able to restrict their opponents to a total lower than 173 on the first day of a Test match was against New Zealand at Bangalore on October 18, 1995. The Kiwis were then dismissed for 145. Since then India has appeared in 46 Test matches.