Raina takes India to victory

Harare - Indian captain Suresh Raina collected cheques for man of the match and the series at Harare Sports Club on Sunday as his side completed a weekend double over Zimbabwe in their short Twenty20 series here.

"We can go home on a high note after a difficult start to the tour," he said afterwards. "We have done rather well overall."

India failed to reach the final of the 50-overs Tri-nations series after two defeats by the home side but redemption came at the end with the Twenty20 format that the Indians were clearly more comfortable with.

Zimbabwe performed much better here on Sunday than the previous day by setting up a positive 140 runs target.

After the early loss of Numan Ojha for 10, Raina and Murali Vijay led the Indian reply, adding 79 for the second wicket, and they got home with seven wickets and two overs to spare.

Raina hit 72 not out in only 44 balls while Vijay was slightly more sedate with 46 in 39 balls.

Zimbabwe might have done better with the bat had they attacked earlier. They scored only 47 from their first 10 overs, even though they lost only two wickets.

At the 15 overs mark they were still looking for singles rather than sixes, putting together only 74, still fewer than five an over.

The arrival of Charles Coventry changed all that. The 27-year-old, included in the side at the expense of Craig Ervine who was dropped after using up 47 balls for his 30 runs on Saturday, ripped to 28 in 13 balls.

Although he was caught on the boundary, he inspired Tatenda Taibu and Elton Chigumbura to go boundary hunting.

Taibu hit 45 in 40 balls and Chigumbura smacked two towering sixes and a boundary in just a few balls before being caught in the deep.

Zimbabwe also introduced a debutant Tendai Chatara, a seamer, but his seven wides showed he has much to learn.

India coach Gary Kirsten was full of praise for the way his young team responded to the challenge.

"They had to play together and not in the comfort of having senior players," he told AFP. "It was all good exposure. It also gave established seniors the chance of a rest. These play more than 100 days cricket a year."

He said the tour to Zimbabwe had been worthwhile for India's long term preparations towards the World Cup.