Irfan Pathan produced a devastating spell of swing bowling as India brushed aside Zimbabwe with a crushing 161-run victory in the Videocon Cup today.
After a stuttering batting performance to post a competitive 226 for six, the Indians shot out the hosts for a paltry 65 in 24.3 overs with Pathan wrecking the inexperienced batting line-up with five for 27.
Only Heath Streak managed to cross double figures as the hosts recorded their third lowest one-day international total in what turned out to be a totally lopsided contest at the Harare Sports Club.
The wiry Ajit Agarkar also shared the spoils with four for 18 as the Indian pace bowlers exploited the conditions brilliantly to give India their first victory in thetri-series.
It was Zimbabwe's 35th defeat in the last 40 matches, marking one of the longest losing streaks dating back to 2003-04 punctuated only by a no-result against Australia in 2004-05 and two wins each during their tour of Bangladesh and a home series against the same opponent.
Zimbabwe had reasons to hope for an upset win after they restricted India to 226 for 6 but then their batting came apart in the face of some high-quality fast bowling by Pathan, who registered his best ever figures in ODIs, and Agarkar. Pathan and first-change Agarkar shared all but one wicket and most of the dismissals were by way of bowled and lbws asthe Zimbabweans looked completely clueless and technically ill-equipped.
The biggest stand for them was for the last wicket when Streak and Prosper Utseya (11) added 18 runs in the last-ditch stand.
The cry for Zimbabwe's ouster would again pick up in the international arena as the hosts continue to plunge deeper and deeper into cricketing quagmire.
This was Zimbabwe's third lowest total in their history and the 12th smallest any team has managed in one-day internationals.