India (333 for 6; Mongia 159*, Yuvraj 75) beat Zimbabwe (232; G Flower 48, Harbhajan 4-33) by 101 runs, and won the series 3-2
scorecard

A rollicking partnership of 158 runs from just 107 balls between Dinesh Mongia and Yuvraj Singh was the difference between the two teams as India strolled to a 101-run victory against Zimbabwe in the fifth and final one-day international at Guwahati. The left-left combination proved to be the haymaker to Zimbabwe's jaw, as India stormed to a 3-2 series victory after having trailed 2-1.

This was another triumph for Indian cricket's youth brigade. For Yuvraj and Kaif at Hyderabad, read Mongia and Yuvraj at Guwahati. They came together in the 31st over with India 157 for 4. A reasonable score, but with the inherent danger of things falling apart if further wickets fell, a situation not unfamiliar to Indian fans.

Kaif had departed for only 5, driving Douglas Hondo uppishly to Andy Flower at midwicket, and the situation demanded a big innings from Mongia. The man berated for not converting his fifties into bigger scores knuckled down and breezed his way through the rest of the innings.

Yuvraj was fantastic. For those that thought of him as just a slam-bang hitter, he had a fitting riposte. With the field spread out, he played with soft hands, placed the ball well and ran like a hare. Singles dominated the first ten overs of the partnership; the 34th over, bowled by Grant Flower, was all ones, as was the 37th, bowled by Heath Streak. The Platform was being constructed.

And then, Take-Off. Mongia reached his hundred in the 43rd over, with an assured cover-drive off Travis Friend. He grinned before the ball had even reached the ropes; then took off his helmet, hugged his statemate, and looked at the sky. Then he put his headgear back on and got back to business.

The next six overs were sheer mayhem. Sixes and fours were belted to all corners of the ground, some cultured strikes interspersed with improvised slogs and deflections. Yuvraj favoured the midwicket region, hitting three massive sixes, while Mongia finished what he'd started with a flourish.

Yuvraj - having hammered out 75 from 52 balls in a heady drum-beat of strokes - holed out to long-on off Douglas Marillier's bowling in the 49th, but Mongia ended on a high, with fours off the last two deliveries. He finished 159 not out, off only 145 balls. India had gone from 200 to 250 in 36 deliveries, from 250 to 300 in just 16. The fifty partnership between Mongia and Yuvraj had taken 53 balls; the 100 came up in just 83. Quite extraordinary.

Zimbabwe were never at the races. Alistair Campbell's 31 was a desperate dash, as his partner Dion Ebrahim struggled to work the ball off the square. Campbell got out trying to go over the top, cracking Zaheer Khan to Vijay Bharadwaj at midwicket (50 for 1).

Travis Friend came in and threw the bat around a bit as the asking rate spiralled out of control. Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh kept things tight, while Bharadwaj's offspin was taken for plenty. But whatever hopes Zimbabwe may have had were ended by a stunning collapse.

Friend left first, giving Harbhajan the charge - stumped with time to spare (111 for 2). He made 31. Andy Flower was then deceived in the flight, and his lofted off-drive was superbly taken by Zaheer running back from mid-off (113 for 3). Once Ganguly bowled Ebrahim for 42, shuffling too far across his stumps (114 for 4), it was as good as over.

Stuart Carlisle had a dart, and made 17 before finding Dravid in the deep off Bharadwaj's bowling (143 for 5). That set the stage for Streak and Grant Flower to throw the bat around even as they chased a hopelessly lost cause. They were helped by the fact that India played just the three front-line bowlers. Runs came thick and fast, by orthodox and fluky means, but with the required rate hovering around ten an over, the Indians were never hassled.

A great over from Zaheer ensured an early finish. First, a yorker pegged back Flower's off stump (225 for 6, he made 48), then another zeroed into Marillier's leg stump (226 for 7). Game well and truly over.

Tatenda Taibu was run out by the Yuvraj-Harbhajan combination, and Harbhajan accounted for Gary Brent and Streak to finish with four for the innings. The other bowlers were pretty ordinary - but India always had that mountain of runs to back them up.

They had begun their innings in uncertain fashion, allowing Hondo to bowl two maiden overs on the trot. But Ganguly seized the initiative in typical fashion, slamming four boundaries in quick succession. Having raced to 28, he gave his wicket away, swishing at a wide one from Streak and being caught behind by Taibu (52 for 1). VVS Laxman never looked completely at ease, and his discomfiture was such that it seemed an act of deliverance when he was run out for 16 after a mix-up with Mongia (98 for 2).

Mongia and Rahul Dravid then milked the spinners with great efficiency. Their 50-run partnership came off just 52 deliveries, but Dravid was out soon after, bowled through the gate for 26 when trying to drive Hondo across the line (149 for 3). Kaif followed soon after, but two young men with reputations to forge and a series to win ripped Zimbabwe's burgeoning hopes to shreds.

Teams
India 1 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 2 Dinesh Mongia, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Vijay Bharadwaj, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Ajay Ratra (wk), 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Zaheer Khan.

Zimbabwe 1 Alistair Campbell, 2 Dion Ebrahim, 3 Travis Friend, 4 Andy Flower, 5 Grant Flower, 6 Stuart Carlisle (capt), 7 Douglas Marillier, 8 Heath Streak, 9 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 10 Gary Brent, 11 Douglas Hondo.

Dileep Premachandran and Amit Varma are assistant editors of Wisden.com India.

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