India v Zimbabwe

At Leicester, May 19. Zimbabwe won by three runs. Toss: India.

A tumultuous crowd witnessed the closest match of the tournament so far. India needed only nine from two overs when Olonga returned to the attack. His previous three overs had cost 17, as he lost his run-up and bowled some spectacular wides and a beamer. But this time Singh was caught at cover off his second ball, Srinath yorked with his fifth, and Prasad l. b. w. to the last. Zimbabwe had played two, won two; India played two, lost two.

Zimbabwe made slow progress with the bat, except when Andy Flower and Campbell were together, but haywire bowling donated 51 extras, a fifth of the total. The resulting over-rate was so slow that India's reply was docked a crucial four overs. Not that Zimbabwe were misers, either: there were 90 extras in the match, a World Cup record, but one which lasted only 24 hours. India started well enough, bringing up 44 in the seventh over before Dravid fell. Ramesh, replacing Tendulkar who had flown back to Mumbai to attend his father's funeral, and Jadeja added 99 before Ramesh holed out to mid-on. The middle order rattled along and, when Srinath lofted two huge sixes, India seemed home and dry until Olonga's over. Mongia made five dismissals to equal the one-day international record.

Man of the Match: G. W. Flower. Attendance: 4,005.