Only Test
- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat.
This was the first Test match to have three appointed umpires. British company National Grid sponsored English umpire Dickie Bird so that he could fly to Zimbabwe for the match, the 48th Test match he had umpired. This equalled the world record for the most Test matches umpired. As a result, Bird umpired the whole match while the two Zimbabwean umpires present, Kantilal Kanjee and Ian Robinson, took to the field on alternate days.[7][4] Because this was Zimbabwe's first ever Test match, ten of their eleven players were making their Test debut. The eleventh player, John Traicos, had previously played for South Africa before they were excluded from Test cricket in 1970. He was the 14th cricketer to play Test cricket for two different countries, and he broke the record for the longest period between Test appearances: 22 years and 222 days.[7][4]
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, and India struggled to bowl for the first two days, lacking match practice and still adjusting to the altitude in Harare. Kevin Arnott and Grant Flower opened the batting for Zimbabwe with a 100-run partnership, though both batted cautiously and slowly. India took three wickets on the first day to leave Zimbabwe at 3/188 at stumps.[7][4] A wicket fell early on the second day to bring David Houghton to the crease. Though Houghton, a mainstay in Zimbabwe's team, was known for aggressive batting, he curbed his instincts to score a slow maiden Test century. He reached his hundred after 305 minutes of batting, and he batted in total for 414 minutes, playing India's spin bowlers especially well. Houghton was the first player to score a century his country's inaugural Test match since Charles Bannerman did for Australia in 1877. Houghton and Andy Flower scored 165 runs in 68 overs for the sixth wicket, which took Zimbabwe to stumps on the second day, but all five remaining wickets fell quickly on the morning of the third day. Zimbabwe's first innings total was 456 all out, which easily beat 245 (scored by Australia in their first Test match) to become the highest ever score by a team in their inaugural Test match.[7][4]
The only fast bowler in Zimbabwe's team was Eddo Brandes, who opened the bowling when Zimbabwe took to the field, but broke down after two overs and didn't take any further part in the match. Regardless, Zimbabwe's other bowlers excelled, particularly John Traicos and Gary Crocker. Traicos dismissed Sachin Tendulkar caught and bowled for a duck then had India's captain Mohammad Azharuddin caught at slip for nine, while Crocker only conceded 11 runs in his first 13 overs, nine of which were maiden overs. India were reduced to 4/93 at stumps, still needing to score another 164 runs to avoid the follow-on.[7][4]
Traicos took three more wickets on day four to claim a five-wicket haul. He took five wickets for 86 runs in 50 overs, the best bowling figures of the match, but Zimbabwe lost the initiative when they decided to take a new ball, switching from Traicos to their seam bowlers. This change suited the Indian batsmen, Kapil Dev and Sanjay Manjrekar. Kapil Dev scored 60 runs and Manjrekar scored a century. Manjrekar's century was the fifth slowest Test century, and the slowest ever by an Indian batsman. It took him 500 minutes of batting, and he had faced 397 balls. Manjrekar reached his century just before stumps on the fourth day, and India finished the day with 7/278.[7][4]
Manjrekar was caught at backward point early on day five, and India were all out for 307 just 45 minutes later. As there was not enough time left for a result either, Zimbabwe slowly batted out a draw. In so doing, Zimbabwe became the first team to avoid losing their first Test match since Australia in 1876/77, when the first Test match was played.[7][4]
