India slow as Zimbabwe keep probing

Innings Zimbabwe 168 in 49.5 overs (Chigumbura 41, Bumrah 4-28) v India 

 The Harare Sports Club has always had soft spot for bowlers and India exploited it with great skill to knock Zimbabwe out for 168.

Clear blue skies and a pleasantly brown pitch welcomed the players, but captains were wary of the 9 am start. When it is that early in the day, especially in the Harare winter, the new ball tends to jag around. MS Dhoni made the correct call at the toss and his inexperienced quicks hit the correct lengths straight away. As a result, Zimbabwe's innings went irreversibly wrong.

Barinder Sran, the left-arm quick who made his international debut only five months ago, was eying a wicket off the first ball he bowled on Saturday. An inswinger, full of length and given every opportunity to move through the air, had Chamu Chibhabha falling over while he tried to flick it through midwicket. Umpire Russell Tiffin turned that lbw appeal down, but could not deny Sran later in the over when he pinned the other opener Peter Moor in front of the stumps.

Meanwhile, Dhawal Kulkarni, one of India's premier fast bowlers in domestic cricket, was leaving squared-up batsmen staring at the pitch and wondering where all away movement was coming from. Jasprit Bumrah posed a different threat to the Zimbabwe batsmen. His powerful arm action and a tendency to hit the deck contributed to extra bounce, even off a good length. Besides