Dinesh Mongia wraps series up for India A decider is always exciting, but the fifth one-dayer at Guwahati was thrilling not for the keen contest, for there was none, but for the spectacular batsmanship. Dinesh Mongia, who has been threatening throughout this series to get a good score, finally fulfilled his promise. Unperturbed by the fall of wickets at the other end, Mongia walloped 159 off 147 balls (17x4, 1x6). His best partnership came with Yuvraj Singh, who continued in belligerent vein from Hyderabad to make 75 off 52 (6x4, 3x6). India notched up 33 for six, and that total was always going to be out of reach for Zimbabwe. Grant Flower and Dion Ebrahim crafted fighting knocks of 48 and 42 respectively, but what the situation really needed was a blinder from Andy Flower. Harbhajan Singh took care of him and three others to come up with figures of 4-33, while Zaheer Khan took 3-29. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 232, and a smiling Sourav Ganguly could hold aloft the trophy in triumph.

Ganguly full of praise for youngsters Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was full of praise for the Indian youngsters – Dinesh Mongia, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif – after the team completed a 3-2 series victory over Zimbabwe. The demolition of their opponents in the final two matches at Hyderabad and Guwahati rode largely on the efforts of the youth brigade, and Ganguly duly acknowledged that. "The youngsters played really well," Ganguly said. "It is really good to see them doing well. Their presence improves the fielding standards and gives us natural energy." India were missing the services of star batsman Sachin Tendulkar and the in-form Virender Sehwag, both out with injuries, but Kaif, Mongia and Yuvraj stepped into the breach. Ganguly said, "The performance of our talented young players is certainly a big plus from this series. Some of these guys will form a crucial part of next year's World Cup squad." But Ganguly was not certain whether all of them would make it for India's Test and one-day series in West Indies starting early next month. "It is difficult to say who will be picked for the Tests against West Indies. Some of the other players have been doing well in the longer version of the game," Ganguly said. "A few of the youngsters might still creep in." Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle said that he was happy with his team's showing in the one-dayers. "We came back strongly after losing the Test series 2-0. The boys deserve a lot of credit," he said. "We should have played better today. The series end was disappointing, but there were a lot of positives for us. Our batsmen did brilliantly in the series, and even the bowlers stood up very well. They got a hammering in today's match, but the team will learn from this experience."

Teams mourn for Naren Tamhane Naren Tamhane may have been an Indian wicket-keeper, but the Zimbabwe team did not shrink from showing their respects when news of his demise reached Guwahati. The visitors wore black arm-bands to a man, even when some of the Indian players, oddly enough, had no arm-bands on. Tamhane, also a former selection committee chairman, had been undergoing treatment for cancer in a Mumbai clinic, but he succumbed to the disease on Tuesday morning. He played 21 Tests for India, completing 35 catches and 16 stumpings in that period. Tamhane was noted for his quiet and confident safety behind the stumps rather than flamboyant theatrics. He was a selector form 1980 to 1989, going on to occupy the position of chairman in 1991-92. Former cricketers were quick to express their grief, and Tamhane, a popular man, will be missed by many.

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