By Gullu
September 13 2005

Zimbabwe won the toss, decided to bat first on a pretty good batting surface, and ended up 265 for 7 (Duffin: 56, Taibu: 61*, Zaheer Khan: 68/3).

Player's Performance on Day 1

 

Sehwag: Sehwag was more vocal then usual. I guess his confidence must be back after good knocks in final and warm-up game. He bowled few overs and was turning the ball more then Harbhajan and Kumble. But I think he was bowling too short and at his pace, batsmen have plenty of time to read the turn and play accordingly (might explain lack of wkts in test cricket)

Gambhir: Took a smart catch to get rid of Brandon Taylor and did a good job as close-in fielder.

Dravid: Dropped one tough catch at first slip but also took one good catch to get rid of Streak. Attacked with more close-in fielders when Ganguly was off field and that was also Kumble's best spell.

Laxman: Uneventful day for Laxy. Dropped a very difficult catch but overall tidy effort as close-in fielder.

Yuvraj: Typical Yuvraj in field. Chased after every ball like his life depended on it and India's standout fielder of the day.

Ganguly: Another poor day for under-pressure Indian captain. Lost an important toss on batting beauty. Took himself off the attack after one maiden over...Field placement were neither attacking not defensive, thus allowing lot of easy singles and doubles. Very average fielding performance and spent considerable time off the field (hopefully not serious tennis elbow problem).

Dinesh Kaarthik: Good day for Dinesh although he did let couple of byes go in last session of the play. Took a good catch down the leg-side off Zaheer Khan but didn't appeal strongly for it.

Irfan Pathan: One good spell after lunch but didn't look that threatening. Bowled high 120's or low 130's.

Harbhajan Singh: Poor day for Harbhajan Singh. His inability to take wkts on non-spinning tracks is a big worry.

Kumble: Mixed day for champion leg-spinner. Drifted on pads and bowled 6 no-balls (Pretty high number for a spinner). Didn't trouble Zimbabwean batsmen too much on a pretty good batting surface.

Zaheer Khan: Hard to describe his day. Bent his back and extracted good bounce off the pitch. Took 3 well-deserved wkts but also bowled tons of no balls and loose balls. He limped off the field in final session of the day and was warned once for running on the pitch.