India, Feb. 18 -- Mention Zimbabwe cricket to fans of a certain generation, and they would fondly remember the team of bringing a certain romance into global competition.

Who can forget the two memorable 'Escape to Victory' games in one-day World Cups, one in 1983 at Tunbridge Wells where Kapil Dev rescued India with a 175 for the ages, and four years later where Martin Crowe ran back into the shadow cast by the pavilion at Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium to complete a sensational catch after Dave Houghton's brilliant 142 had almost caused a huge upset. In the end, it was only a three-run win for the Kiwis.

Nine days before Zimbabwe gave India an almighty scare at Tunbridge Wells, they had stunned Australia at Nottingham, skippe...