India v Kenya

At Southampton, September 11. India won by 98 runs. India 2 pts. Toss: Kenya. One-day international debuts: R. G. Aga, M. A. Ouma.

The Rose Bowl metamorphosed into the subcontinent for this game. Klaxons and hooters blared incessantly and Asian voices roared amid a sky-blue sea of replica India one-day shirts, but for all the passion in the stands, the match barely flickered into life on the pitch. Tikolo won the toss and pleased the spectators by fielding, so virtually ensuring their idols would bat for 50 overs. Sehwag caused a few winces early on by scything across the line, but Ganguly and Laxman knuckled down on a curmudgeonly surface. The Kenyan bowlers put the ball in the right place, and just four boundaries came from the first 18 overs. But Ganguly upped the tempo before he was out aiming to run Martin Suji behind square, ten short of a fourth successive hundred against Kenya, and the Indian innings finished with a flourish the Kenyans had no hope of matching. Within nine overs, they had subsided to 21 for three. Maurice Ouma, a 21-year-old right-hander, batted intelligently on debut, though never threatened to do more than irritate. Rageb Aga, an allrounder one year younger, endured a less happy baptism.

Man of the Match: S. C. Ganguly. Attendance: 12,000.