Half-centuries by debutant Terry Duffin and captain Tatenda Taibu helped Zimbabwe register a respectable 265 for 7 against India on the opening day of the first Test, at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, on Tuesday.
Duffin scored 56 while Taibu was unbeaten on 69 as Zimbabwe toiled on a difficult pitch, which got better as the day progressed.
Taibu was then involved in an unbroken 55-run partnership with Keith Dabengwa, who played a quick knock of 35.
Zaheer Khan was the most successful bowler for India, claiming 3 for 68 in 19 overs.
Irfan Pathan (2 for 50) and Anil Kumble (2 for 69) took two wickets each. Harbhajan Singh, looking for his 200th Test scalp, went wicketless.
It was a special occasion for captain Sourav Ganguly, who led the Indian team for the 48th time in Tests, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin, who each led the team 47 times.
Sourav captained India in 47 Tests, winning 19 and losing 13. 15 were drawn.
India brought in left-hander Yuvraj Singh and left out the in-form Mohammad Kaif, who was a clear favourite for a slot in the middle order after having scored 277 runs in five matches in the just-concluded One-Day International tri-series.
Pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, who is down with a knee injury, was also left out as India went into the match with two spinners and two pace bowlers.
For Zimbabwe, Charles Coventry and Terrence Duffin made their Test debuts. All-rounder Andy Blignaut replaced seamer Christopher Mpofu and Heath Streak was fit to play for Zimbabwe after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot in his leg 10 days ago.
Morning session: (29 overs, 75 runs, 2 wickets)
India went into the match with a defensive line-up, having four bowlers, which included the two spinners. Against a weakened bowling attack like Zimbabwe, it would have been better had India played five batsmen. Have five bowlers in your line-up and try to bowl Zimbabwe out at the earliest, like what New Zealand had done in the two-Test series against the hosts.
New Zealand, led by fast bowler Shane Bond, finished both the Tests within two days. Yet, India were quite content to go with the traditional set-up of four bowlers and make sure that the batting is long enough, to cover for any early disruption.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Zimbabwe opened with Brendon Taylor and debutant Terry Duffin. They had a clear plan in mind: see out the left-arm seamers. Although they struggled to cope with the exaggerated movement generated by the two pacers, they still kept their wickets intact for the first nine overs.
The first wicket fell in the tenth over, when Gautam Gambhir, at short leg, held a fine catch to send back Taylor for 13. Zaheer got the ball to bounce; it took the inner edge of Taylor's bat onto the pads and flew to Gambhir. (25-1, 9.3)
The first hour produced 44 runs for the loss of one wicket, as both seamers struggled to get another breakthrough, even though they got a lot of assistance from the pitch.
Zaheer bagged his second wicket, that of Hamilton Masakadza, who was caught behind by Dinesh Karthik. The right-hander, who looked positive while scoring 14, inclusive of three boundaries, tried to take on a short delivery but then changed his mind at the last moment and ended up gloving it. (45-2, 14)
Then the two spinners -- Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh -- took over after the seamers bowled eight overs each.
Kumble and Harbhajan found the pitch to their liking as they generated a good amount of bounce and turn. But wickets still proved elusive as the batsmen jumped on the front foot to counter the threat of spin.
Duffin, in particular, impressed, as he scored 26 but stayed on for a whole session on his debut Test. He survived the first real test against against two world-class spinners.
Dion Ebrahim, fresh from his century in the warm-up match against India, toiled hard for his 10 as Zimbabwe went to lunch at 75 for 2 after 29 overs.
Post-lunch session: (32 overs, 92 runs, 1 wickets)
Duffin's batting gradually blossomed under the sun in the second session. He hit Zaheer for two boundaries in the 34th over, the first was a lovely straight drive, and two balls later, a sweetly struck cover drive.
The batsmen brought up their 50-run partnership for the third wicket in 122 balls. Zimbabwe, after a slow start, reached 101 for 2 in the 35th over, with the batsmen starting to get the measure of things.
The 23-year old Duffin, who has a mediocre average of 30.17 at the first class level, was at ease against India's best bowlers. The secret of the left-hander's batting was that he preferred to play straight and as late as possible to counter the swing and spin.
Things didn't get better when wicketkeeper Karthik missed an easy stumping chance to dismiss Ebrahim. The batsman was tempted down the wicket by Harbhajan, but the wicketkeeper failed to gather the ball in the 39th over.
The very next over Duffin brought up his half-century, inclusive of seven boundaries, once again with a sweetly-timed cover drive off Pathan. The left-hander took 120 balls to reach the milestone in his debut Test.
However, he did not survive long after that, as he was out leg before wicket for 56. The debutant was caught right in front of the stumps after he failed to read an in-swinging delivery from Pathan. (119-3, 41.2)
The two batsmen showed tremendous application, adding 74 runs for the third wicket.
Pathan then struck again in his very next over, getting the wicket of Ebrahim for 24. The right-hander pushed forward to a good length delivery to hand a simple catch to the bowler. (124-4, 43.3)
Tatenda Taibu showed Harbhajan some of his skills with the bat as he danced down the wicket and launched him over the mid-wicket fence for a six in the 49th over. The off-spinner needs just one wicket to reach the 200-wicket milestone in Tests, but the Zimbabwe batsmen tried their best to make sure he didn't get there.
Harbhajan bowled 12 overs on the trot after lunch, even as he never came close to taking a wicket, and a fast bowler kept operating from the other end. Kumble, the most experienced bowler with 467 wickets in 95 Tests, was kept waiting even as things drifted and the batsmen got used to the wicket. It was also surprising not to see the two spinners bowling in tandem.
And when the spinners did bowl in tandem, it was Kumble and Virender Sehwag. But it had no effect on the batsmen, who just played with relative ease on a slow, turning wicket.
Taibu, on 24, and Heath Streak, 19 not out, safely negotiated the last few overs before tea as Zimbabwe finished the second session on 167 for 4 after 61 overs.
Thanks to some unimaginative captaincy from Ganguly, the bowlers, expect for Pathan, who picked two wickets in the session, toiled without much success.
Post Tea session: (32 overs, 96 runs, 3 wickets)
The Streak-Taibu partnership grew and assumed dangerous proportions as the batsmen concentrated more on rotating the strike.
Harbhajan nearly grabbed a wicket as he got Streak, on 26, to edge his straighter delivery, but Rahul Dravid failed to hold on to the difficult chance in the 68th over.
But Dravid, at slips, made no mistake the next time he got the opportunity, off Kumble. Streak once again edged, this time the ball went straight to Dravid, who took it gleefully. The Zimbabwe all-rounder scored 27, adding 69 valuable runs for the fifth wicket with Taibu. (193-5, 68.4)
The Indians were made to work hard for the wicket on a slow turning pitch that is getting better for batting; they needed a massive 25.1 overs to make the breakthrough.
Kumble then provided India another wicket as he trapped Coventry leg before wicket for 2. The faster delivery from the veteran spinner caught the debutant on the crease, right in front of the stumps. (197-6, 71)
Kumble was proving to be the best bowler for India as he constantly kept mixing his deliveries. It begged the question: why did the captain not bowl him for most part of the post-lunch session?
At the other end, Harbhajan was struggling to trouble the batsmen despite trying all his variations.
Captain Taibu held fort for Zimbabwe as they reached the 200-run mark in the 74th over, for the loss of six wickets, something they wouldn't have thought of at the start of their innings.
After 80 overs, Zimbabwe were 205 for 6, and India chose not to take the new ball as soon as it was available.
Taibu's hard-working half-century came off 106 balls, inclusive of four boundaries and a six, in the 81st over. Even as wickets fell around him, the short man refused to intimidated by the Indian bowlers.
The seventh wicket for Zimbabwe fell in the form of Andy Blignaut, who was trapped leg before wicket by Zaheer for 4. The left-hander made the mistake of playing back and across to a full delivery, which swung in and trapped him plumb leg before. (210-7, 81.3)
The last ten overs did not see any drama as India opted against taking the new ball and had Kumble bowling from one end, with a seamer at the other.
At 22 Taibu maybe the youngest captain in international cricket, but he showed maturity beyond his years during his unbeaten knock of 61, holding one end up and denying the Indian bowlers the chance of running through the lower order.
Dabengwa also impressed in his short stint at the wicket, during which he scored a quick 35. He played fearlessly, dispatching Kumble for six over midwicket in the last over of the day. Taibu was solid at the other end, unbeaten on 61, as 96 runs came in the final session in 32 overs.
The two batsmen were involved in an unbroken stand of 55 to help Zimbabwe finish the day on a high, at 259 for 7 from 93 overs.
The hosts will be delighted with the first day's outcome, especially after the debacle in the Test series against New Zealand in which they failed to cross the 250-run mark in four innings.
In fact, in the first Test they were bundled out for 59 and 99 in the two innings.
A score of around 350 will sure cause some uneasiness in the India camp, considering the form of their top batsmen.
The best part of India's showing was their over-rate; for the first time in years, they finished their overs well before time and even bowled a few extra.
More from rediff