DURBAN, 20 March 2003 — Kenya can expect a tougher game against India in today’s World Cup semifinal than they experienced in the Super Sixes, India captain Saurav Ganguly said yesterday. Ganguly scored a match-winning century in the second round match, steering his side to a six-wicket victory.

“They fought hard,” he said. “But we were only at 50 percent of our game. So far the Kenya game is the only one where we fielded poorly, dropping six chances. “Still we managed to win by six wickets. We need to be at the top of our game. Tomorrow we need to do that.

“We all know how important it is for our careers to get into the World Cup final because none of us in this team have experienced that. So, we will be desperate to do that tomorrow. We will give more than 100 percent in all departments.”

Kenya are the first non-Test country to reach the World Cup semifinals, with four wins in eight matches and one forfeit victory.

India have won eight of their nine games in the tournament and will equal their national record of eight consecutive victories if they reach Sunday’s final against defending champions Australia.

Ganguly said a five-day gap since India’s last match would not affect his team’s sharpness. “Five days, waiting for a semifinal is quite a lot,” he said. “We have had two days’ break between most of our games. But I don’t think this should matter from the point of momentum in our side.”

Ganguly said he would have to monitor the weather before the day-night match. There have been showers in Durban since Tuesday night and the pitch at Kingsmead is under covers. It began raining heavily again yesterday, soon after the Indians had completed their nets.

“We need to have an eye on the weather,” he said. “Especially in the evening.” Ganguly dismissed suggestions that Kenya, as rank outsiders, would go into the game without feeling any pressure.

“I don’t believe that you don’t have pressure in a World Cup semifinal,” he said. “If you ask them whether they want to get to the final, they will say yes. They won’t say: ‘We want to go home.’” He added, however: “We can’t consider them to be a weak side. We will have to play well. They have surprised quite a few teams in the tournament. “Names don’t matter. So far they have played well. You don’t just wake up and get to a semifinal, which they have managed to achieve.”

Kenya beat 1996 champions Sri Lanka and two other Test countries, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, as well as Canada. Their campaign was helped significantly by New Zealand’s refusal to play them in the first round in Nairobi because of security concerns.

Kenya’s Hobbling Heroes

Battle Pain Barrier

Kenya are sweating on the fitness of their hobbling heroes ahead day-night semifinal. “Maurice Odumbe is struggling with his thigh, Thomas Odoyo with his groin and Kennedy Otieno’s elbow is still sore,” said coach Sandeep Patil. “Martin Suji’s hamstrings are also sore and Steve Tikolo has only just recovered from tonsillitis.”

Veterans Odumbe (38 not out) and Odoyo (43 not out) saw Kenya home to their seven-wicket Super Six win over Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein last week, a victory which made sure the team became the first non-Test nation to reach the World Cup semifinals. Both missed the ‘dead’ Super Six match against defending champions Australia here on Saturday — a match where wicketkeeper Otieno was struck a painful blow on the elbow in the process of being bowled by Brett Lee.

However, Patil — a World Cup winner as a player with India in 1983 — revealed that several of his veterans had played hurt before. “I’m so proud of these boys. Against Zimbabwe they weren’t fit. But they played and never complained.”

Despite Kenya’s shock success, Tikolo insisted the pressure of the occasion had still to get to him. “I’m not really nervous. It’s another game of cricket, a battle between bat and ball,” he said.

And Patil, who is due to leave Kenya when his contract expires after the World Cup, said his side’s resolve had been a key factor.

“The players have shown a lot of character which is so important at this level. Against Australia, we were three for three and we came back. That just hasn’t happened in one game, it’s happened all the way through.”