Wisden
Tour review

Zimbabwe v India, 2016

One-day internationals (3): Zimbabwe 0, India 3
Twenty20 internationals (3): Zimbabwe 1, India 2

For the past decade India had made several flying visits to Zimbabwe: this was their fourth since 2010. The aim was to keep the Zimbabwean administrators' noses just above the financial floodwater, in return for their loyal vote at ICC meetings, which had helped maintain the BCCI's grip on the game's global affairs.

But changes at the ICC removed that dynamic - this was the last of the quid pro quo tours, with no further visit scheduled for another three years - so the Indian board sought a better, more sensible objective for six essentially meaningless games. All but one of India's most senior cricketers were rested, and the squad assembled almost entirely from those who had excelled in the IPL, in order to broaden the base of players, particularly fast bowlers, with international experience. Meanwhile, a Test was replaced by three Twenty20 internationals.

The result was 16 limited-overs specialists - only K. L. Rahul had been selected for the Test series which followed in the Caribbean - but the biggest surprise was M. S. Dhoni's decision to make himself available to lead the next generation. The news delighted Zimbabwean Indians, whose small but vocal community chanted his name and called for selfies at every opportunity. It was a happy squad (once they had moved from their original hotel into Harare's best).

Only Zimbabwe's interim coach, the former South African pace bowler Makhaya Ntini, was upset by the arrival of an A-team. "If you send us a team that is not your strongest team, we're going to put them under the carpet," he said. Ntini had been promoted to head coach when Dav Whatmore was sacked at the end of May, while Graeme Cremer replaced Hamilton Masakadza, who had lasted just four months as captain. But apart from the dreamlike win in the first T20 international, it was Zimbabwe who were swept aside. They were so dire in the one-day internationals that they claimed only three wickets across the three games - Indian seamer Jasprit Bumrah alone took nine - and their highest total was just 168, compared with 170 in the T20 victory. Only half India's squad were required to bat more than once but, of those who did, opener Rahul was the undoubted star, with 265 runs at 88 during the two series.

Match reports for

1st ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 11, 2016
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 13, 2016
Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 15, 2016
Report | Scorecard

1st T20I: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 18, 2016
Report | Scorecard

2nd T20I: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 20, 2016
Report | Scorecard

3rd T20I: Zimbabwe v India at Harare, Jun 22, 2016
Report | Scorecard

© John Wisden & Co.