India8217;s confidence soars to record heights

Mpumelelo Mbangwa took advantage of ideal conditions to swing the new ball and catch the edge of Sachin Tendulkar8217;s bat and then straighten one to trap VVS Laxman lbw. Mbangwa is proving to be a good support bowler for Heath Streak who has toiled well in this series without getting the results he deserves.

After beating the bat a number of times, Streak finally produced the perfect delivery to collect the wicket of Saurav Ganguly.

Despite the loss of three early wickets, Azharuddin and Jadeja were not deterred. They built up their partnership steadily but neither missed an opportunity to punish the loose ball and there was a regular sprinkling of boundaries.

Jadeja is in very good form driving beautifully through theoffside and being quite inventive at times without resorting to unorthodox shots. Both players seem to enjoy batting in humid conditions as they had performed a similar resurrection act in Kochi.

Like Mark Waugh, Azharuddin is considered to be a terrific on-side player, but neither batsman should be sold short when it comes to driving through the off-side. Azharuddin put on a tremendous display of off-side play in amassing his sixth ODI century, whilst not neglecting to punish anything pitched on his pads.

They talk about marriage being better the second time around. I8217;m not sure what Azharuddin thinks about that theory but I8217;d bet he reckons it applies to captaincy. The Indian skipper is leading the side with confidence and I haven8217;t seen him look more relaxed with a bat in his hands.

The pair posted a world record partnership for any wicket in this form of the game, adding 275 for the fourth wicket. On a day when the records tumbled as quickly as the Indian run rate soared, Azharuddin made his highestscore in a one-day international bring up a blazing 150 with a soaring six over long-on. To give you an idea of how this pair took the game away from Zimbabwe, they plundered their last two hundred in just under 29 overs.

It was a difficult situation for skipper Alistair Cambell: deprived of the services of one of his frontline bowlers in Paul Strang he was lacking firepower after taking early wickets. In the end, he was powerless to stop Azharuddin and Jadeja as they scored when and wherever they liked.

That left Zimbabwe with two options. The ideal one was to score the 302 required for victory, but it was equally important to restrict a loss to the smallest margin possible. That would at least keep their net run rate above Australia8217;s, which would be the deciding factor in the event of the two teams being equal on points.

Zimbabwe didn8217;t help their cause by losing wickets at regular intervals, the most senseless being the run out of Guy Whittall. Grant Flower called quot;yesquot; on where he meant to hit theball, but it turned into a disastrous call when the shot was close to Tendulkar8217;s right hand and his throw beat Whittall by a metre.

Flower then added to his crime by showing his annoyance and struggling to regain his concentration for a couple of overs. The last thing Flower needed to do was to lose his wicket and have to go and face an angry Whittall back in the dressing room.

Flower eventually recovered his composure and despite a hand injury went on to become the third player to score a ton in the match. This was a tribute to the ground staff who produced a pitch that provided all players with the opportunity to display their skills. India now have the chance to rest and recuperate for the final while the other two teams fight for the right to meet them in Delhi. Seemingly the only thing that can stop a confident home side from taking the title is a case of big match nerves.