Kenya's fairy-tale faces reality check against India

DURBAN, South Africa, March 18 AP - Sourav Ganguly and his Indian line-up will be more surprised than anyone if Kenya continues its fairy-tale run at the cricket World Cup and reaches the March 23 final.

India, on a seven-match winning roll, is against the African minnow in a semifinal at Kingsmead on Thursday.

Kenya is the first non-Test nation to reach the semifinals at a World Cup, and is concerned less about who it plays than how will it plays.

The Kenyans managed something of a dress rehearsal for the semis when they met India at Newlands, Cape Town, on March 7 in a Super Six match.

Although Kenya lost by six wickets, it took enough heart out of that game to lift themselves for a victory over Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein on March 12 to seal their place in the penultimate round.

Now, the thinking in the Kenyan camp is that a hard match against Australia in the final Super Six match last Saturday has prepared them for what seems to be an impossible task in the rematch with India.

The Indians have lifted themselves to a new level since their last match with Kenya, and look as if they can take on and beat any team.

"We still have a long way to go and, as is the case against any opposition and in any circumstance, we have to achieve our game plans and play well," said India coach John Wright.

"If we do that the result will take care of itself."

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said: "We have the best batting lineup in the world."

With Sachin Tendulkar spearheading that lineup with a World Cup record 586 runs so far, there aren't many who'd disagree.

Ganguly and Virender Sehwag add extra explosiveness, while Rahul Dravid brings solidity to the middle order in an extraordinarily well-balanced batting list.

The real revelation for the Indians has been the ability of their fast bowlers to effect an early breakthrough throughout the tournament.

With the "old man" Javagal Srinath at the helm, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan have developed into genuinely quick bowlers.

Of their top batsmen, none of the Kenyans has been particularly consistent here.

Kennedy Otieno was the man who got runs against India in Cape Town. His 79 there will have given him confidence against the Indian opening attack which was unable to break the Kenyan opening stand.

Skipper Steve Tikolo batted himself back into form with a determined 51 against Australia, and, as Kenya's best batsman, it is almost imperative that he succeeds if Kenya is to get into a winning position.

Maurice Odumbe and Thomas Odoyo are both hard-hitting batsmen who can lift the run rate in the latter stages of an innings, but they will need a platform laid for them by Otieno, his fellow-opener Ravindu Shah, who scored 46 against Australia, and Tikolo.

Kenya's bowling depends heavily on varied pace and the find of the tournament - legspinner Collins Obuya. The 21-year-old has taken 13 wickets for 396 runs, and he only looked vulnerable against Australia.

"I have seen him grow up into a good player, and I'm sure he will be able to bounce back from that bad day," said Tikolo.

He will have to be at his best against the Indian batsmen, who are perhaps the best players of spin in the world.

Kenya coach Sandeep Patil, a member of India's World Cup-winning squad from 1983, says he feels very much as he did when he was part of that surprise victory.

"People have labeled Kenya reaching this stage a big surprise, but it is the result of hard work by every one of the boys," Patil said.

Patil refused to be drawn on what he considered the weakpoints of India.

"That would be revealing my game plan," he said. "Just say I am plotting their downfall."

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Mongia, Parthiv Patel, Sanjay Bangar, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif

Kenya (from): Steve Tikolo (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Maurice Odoyo, Martin Suji, Kennedy Otieno, Hitesh Modi, Ravindu Shah, Tony Suji, Peter Ongondo, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Joseph Angara, Brijal Patel, Asif Karim, Alpesh Vader

Umpires: Steve Bucknor, West Indies and Daryl Harper, Australia

TV umpire: Simon Taufel, Australia

Match referee: Mike Procter, South Africa