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Warning -- Cobra crossing!

As suspected, India were far too strong for a game Kenyan side. Since the first two days of the tournament, when it was quite obvious that the wickets were far too dry, it has been very noticeable that the ground staff have changed their preparation and a lot of watering has changed the nature of the pitches slightly. I remember when we were last in Kenya that the wickets were much truer, but it seems that they have changed. When dry they turn square, and when wet the seamer becomes encouraged by bounce and lateral movement.

Kenya bowled and fielded well, and although they were unable to take wickets they managed to hold the Indian team for some time, giving the remaining opponents watching the hope that India’s powerful batting can be held to a moderate score. In fact, with wickets in hand, India’s total was moderate and I am sure they would have preferred to score something in the region of 250 plus.

This is not to take anything away from the Kenyans. Too many of the Indian batsman got a start and then threw their wickets away. Dravid, Ganguly and Ramesh were cases in point. Captain Ajay Jadeja is a wonderful one-day player and one of his strengths is at the death where he can be devastating. His run out I think was the difference between 220 and 270.

Vijay Bhardwaj, who came in and played a cameo of an innings to get India to that total, has impressed me. 41 off 30 balls is just what the doctor ordered, and gave India a cushion that Kenya would never be able to get to. Their batting is not strong enough. Ramesh scored 50 off 117 balls, which in the context of this game was probably just OK. The Kenyan seamers moved the ball around, and by hanging on at the crease during that spell, he ensured that early wickets weren’t lost which might have put India’s lower order under pressure.

India’s bowling did well with both Mohanty and Prasad proving too good for the Kenyan openers, and at 60 for 6, Kenya needed a miracle. The Indian spinners were not as effective, as the ball did not hold and turn. One could see the ball coming onto the bat. However both Chopra and Joshi were still too good with tremendous control and change of pace. It will be interesting to see how Zimbabwe, who will need to beat India in order to stand any chance of getting through to the final, approach the job of playing against them. At the moment these two spinners resemble the Indian Cobra, mesmerising the opposition batsman, ready to strike at anytime.

The other member of the side who has impressed has been the wicketkeeper MSK Prasad, who is the noisiest Indian keeper I have ever heard. His enthusiasm and technique are excellent. Indian wicketkeepers are always good standing upto the wicket, which is the real skill, but he is the first Indian keeper who shows his enthusiasm verbally. Every play and miss is accompanied by a strangled cry. As a batter I would have been very upset, but the game has changed and now as a coach one has to encourage the keeper to say as much as is legally possible. Any method to upset the batsman is supposed to be a good method.

I still foresee an India versus South Africa final and that will be of great interest. India, though, have been susceptible to the never-say-die attitude of the Zimbabweans. They have an astute coach who in his time was a fine player of spin bowling. Dave Houghton I know will attempt to give his batters the confidence to take on the Indian spinners and put them under pressure. That is the beauty of the game, the cat and mouse battle. It all depends on which team becomes the mouse on the day.

Gameplan

Bob Woolmer