India opt for batting practice

Zimbabwe Board XI 294 for 9 dec and 96 for 1 drew with Indians 572 for 9 (Gambhir 126, Sehwag 123, Dravid 108*, Kumble 61, Ganguly 46)
Scorecard

Sourav Ganguly trudges off after being dismissed for 46 © AFP

India got some welcome batting practice on the last day of their tour match against a Zimbabwe Board XI at Mutare, ambling to 572 for 9 as Virender Sehwag (123), Gautam Gambhir (126) and Rahul Dravid (108 not out) all got hundreds.

Rather than declare and try to force a result, the Indians opted to give all their team time at the crease in front of a tiny crowd on day which provide little entertainment. The Indians suffered a batting collapse as VVS Laxman (28), Mohammad Kaif (4) and Yuvraj Singh (1) all fell to indifferent strokes. Two batsmen who applied themselves were Dinesh Kaarthick (40) and Anil Kumble (61).

Sourav Ganguly made 46, but retired with a sore arm, although he was fit enough to resume his innings. He later said that he has been having pain in his right elbow since the tri-series which preceded this game. However, he intends to play the two Tests against Zimbabwe over the next two weeks before submitting himself for a scan.

The Zimbabwe Board XI had enough time to reach 96 for 1 second time round.