Kenya is no stranger to causing shocks in the showcase tournament for one-day cricket, having beaten West Indies in 1996 and then Sri Lanka in 2003, when it memorably reached the semifinals.

And Baptiste, whose side opens against New Zealand on Sunday, says Kenya will now aim to do the same in a Group A that also features Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Canada.

“The target is the same,” the 50-year-old former West Indies test all-rounder told a news conference on Saturday.

“Looking at our group, I have no doubt in my mind that we can cause a few upsets. I believe the players will do a disciplined job each game. We will give 110 percent in batting or bowling or fielding and we can beat anyone in this tournament.” Though Kenya is still a non-test playing nation, team captain Jimmy Kamande was in a similarly bullish mood ahead of Sunday's contest at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.

“In this tournament, the top 14 countries in the world are competing and nobody should be taken lightly,” he said. “The results will talk about our performance at the end of the day.

“We are going to play our brand of cricket that we know best. In all our matches, we are geared up to get good results. We are well-organized and prepared. We will enjoy ourselves and not try to copy any team.” Kamande paid tribute to the work of former South Africa batsman and acrobatic fielder Jonty Rhodes, who is currently Kenya's fielding coach, for helping in that tournament preparation.

“He is the best in that department,” Kamande said.

“We have learnt a lot from him and the inputs he used to give in all departments of the game like batting, bowling, fielding and mental side have been excellent.” As for the prospect of facing a recently struggling New Zealand side, who he described as “wounded lions,” Kamande was clearly ready for a combative game on Sunday.

He was equally clear, though, that the pressure would all be on the five-time semifinalists rather than his own XI.

“We want to do what we normally do,” Kamande said.

“What I have seen from my side these days are that we have improved on the batting side and on the bowling side they are coming together.

“We want to play to our potential and enjoy ourselves.

And the result will take care of itself.” Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is backing his side to bounce back from a series of defeats.

New Zealand has arrived at the tournament after losing its last nine one-day internationals on the subcontinent, having been trounced 4-0 in a series in Bangladesh and whitewashed 5-0 in India.

The shortcomings of its bowling attack were meanwhile laid bare in an emphatic 117-run defeat by India in its final warmup match in Chennai on Wednesday.

However, Vettori was decidedly upbeat on Saturday as his squad prepared to get its Group A campaign under way.

The skipper told a news conference he was optimistic that “confidence levels will be up after our match tomorrow.

Our guys have the ability to bounce back. I prefer to look at what is ahead rather than dwelling on the past.” He also tried to look on the bright side of the practice match defeat by India.

Vettori had not finalized the exact team selection and clearly wanted to assess the condition of all-rounder and offspinner Nathan McCullum after his discharge from hospital earlier Saturday after a bout of fever.

As for the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium surface, the New Zealand skipper was relishing the challenge, which awaited his bowlers.