India v Kenya

At Durban, March 20, 2003 (day/night). India won by 91 runs. Toss: India.

The steel instilled into the Indian team and distilled by Ganguly, drop by steady drop, ensured there were no Disneyfied endings for Kenya. Captaining India for the 99th time in a one-day international, Ganguly re-emphasised his batting mastery against modest attacks to guide his team to an imposing if not unanswerable total, then sat back as his pace trio did the needful. India equalled their record for consecutive successes, set in 1985, with win No. 8. India began carefully enough but Ganguly was in no mood to accept dictation. After five runs had been squeezed from leg-spinner Collins Obuya's opening two overs, he darted out to launch a six off the first ball of his third, then repeated the message four balls later; the chastened Obuya lasted just six overs. Tendulkar seemed destined for a hundred until he pulled Tikolo to deep midwicket. But Ganguly matched Mark Waugh's 1996 feat of three centuries in a World Cup tournament, getting there with his fifth six, the product of a golfer's swing and that unmistakable superiority complex. Arms aloft, he drank in the acclaim. His opposite number, Tikolo, also top-scored in the Kenyan reply, before his men took a weary lap of honour, smiles intact, their place in the pantheon assured.

Man of the Match: S. C. Ganguly. Attendance: 18,111.