It should be India's day

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It is the glorious uncertainty of one-day cricket that has led to Kenya standing between India and a World Cup final against Australia. Yes, the Kenyans deserve to be in the semi-final after putting together some efficient performances. But I am not convinced that they can prevent the Indian juggernaut from rolling them over. Sourav Ganguly's men should win the game at Durban and the only thing that remains to be seen is how convincingly.

Australia is unbeaten in this World Cup and it will take a monumental effort to beat them in the final. Keeping this in mind, India will have to make sure that they really thrash Kenya and take the added momentum into the final. Since it is a day/night fixture at Durban, the toss will play a psychological role in the afternoon. But even if India are to bat second, the sheer quality of their batting should offset any advantage Kenya might enjoy.

I just can't see the Kenyan attack causing any trouble to the Indian batting. If they do struggle with the bat, then it would be due to a real mediocre performance from their batsmen as the Kenyan bowling has little to offer beside Martin Suji and Collins Obuya. All that is required is for Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to play through the first 10 overs safely, and India could post a huge total.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly is a clean hitter of the ball when spinners are in action and since Kenya has no real firepower, Ganguly might well enjoy another good day with the bat, and even smash Obuya out of the attack with his trademark lofted shots.

I don't think that the Indian team-management will be keen to experiment in this match against Kenya. They will go in with the same team and the same plans, which has proved successful so far.

If I were the Indian captain, one move I would have tried out, though, was playing Yuvraj Singh at number three. The youngster seems to possess unbridled talent, and he clearly needs to bat higher up the order to express himself better. It would also ensure that Ganguly would have a few more options and this could prove handy in the final.

One thing I have noticed about the Indian team is that they have a very efficient management team. They are now reaping the benefits of having Andrew Leipus and Adrian Le Roux in their ranks. Look at someone like Zaheer Khan; he looks trim, is running in with much more purpose and importantly getting wickets. So is the case with Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra - their efficiency has been fine tuned to produce the best results.

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Talking about the bowling, it may be a good idea to give Harbhajan Singh an early bowl and an uninterrupted 10-over spell at that. It is in India's best interest to have him in prime form going into a grand final against Australia. The 'Turbanator' in form is certainly one bowler the Australians wouldn't want to play in a final.

Before I end, I must also congratulate Kenya for their wonderful success in this World Cup. Sandeep Patil has done an amazing job with them. I wish at this point that the Pakistan team had shown the commitment that Kenya brought into this World Cup. But all said, to expect Kenya to beat India in the big semi-final is stretching it a bit too far. India should canter to a win in this game.