OTD | Andy Flower scored an unbeaten 183 for Zimbabwe in the first Test against India in 2000

On this day in 2000, Andy Flower played one of the best knocks for a WK batter in Tests. The Southpaw scored an unbeaten 183*(351) in an innings which lasted for a whopping 466 minutes. While the innings couldn’t avoid Zimbabwe’s loss, it meant a great start to Flower’s campaign in a series which revolved around him.

Zimbabwe won the toss in Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi and batted first. When Andy came to bat, the visiting side was reduced to 134/3 on a good surface. Apart from Alistair Campbell, he didn’t get a lot of support from the other end. Yet, he played a great innings against a bowling attack consisting of Javagal Srinath. 

The Southpaw played 351 balls and scored an unbeaten 183 which included 24 fours and 2 sixes. His innings helped the visiting side to post a total of 422/9 before they declared their innings. India replied with a score of 458/4 before declaring their innings. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar starred with the bat by scoring 200 and 122 respectively.

Flower claimed a catch before returning to bat again. Even in the second innings, he was the only batter who stood between India and victory. The middle-order batter scored 70(134) in the second innings, which included 12 fours and a six. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe managed to post just 225 runs on the board due to a lack of contribution from the other end.

India was given a target of just 190 runs. On a flat deck, it wasn’t a challenge. India chased down the total by 7 wickets. Dravid’s 70, Sachin’s 39, and Sourav Ganguly’s 65 helped India’s cause. But the star of the show was Javagal Srinath, who claimed 4 and 5 wickets in the first and second innings to bag the Player of the Match award. Flower shined with his batting performance. His 183* and 70 are regarded as some of the greatest performances by a Zimbabwean Test batter away from home.

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