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India vs. Kenya factbox Posted: Tuesday March 18, 2003 8:22 AMJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -- Factbox on the World Cup semifinal between India and Kenya to be played at Durban on Thursday: TEAMS: India came to the World Cup as a batting side but is rapidly looking as good a bowling unit, thanks to a pace attack inspired by veteran Javagal Srinath. To date, world-class off spinner Harbhajan Singh has been reduced to a bit part, applauding from the outfield. Kenya continues to defy gravity and continues to dance in celebration. No side without test status has ever got as far in a World Cup. Captain Steve Tikolo has not fully lived up to his reputation as a batsman of real quality but wrist spinner Collins Obuya has been a revelation while Ravindu Shah played an exemplary innings against Australia. FORMWATCH: India's impressive Cup result sheet shows eight wins out of nine. One more victory and it will equal its national record. The best performance came against Pakistan, when Sachin Tendulkar was magnificent while Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid were solidly impressive. The 183-run destruction of Sri Lanka, meanwhile, showed Javagal Srinath and Ashish Nehra's growing impact, both taking four for 35. Kenya's best came in the shock win over Sri Lanka. Beating Bangladesh had been its main World Cup aim, which it achieved without fuss. The third 'test-status' win against disappointing Zimbabwe was a highly intelligent display on a dead pitch. HEAD-T0-HEADS: The teams have played 11 times, Kenya managing two wins to India's nine. Both of Kenya's successes were surprisingly comprehensive, winning by 69 runs in 1998 and 70 runs in 2001. Ravindu Shah scored half-centuries in both games. KEY PLAYERS: India -- Rahul Dravid has been magnificent for India but his contributions have made ripples rather than waves. Stuck at number five, he has been reduced to anchoring the innings rather than playing full knocks. He has played his limited role to perfection, however, remaining undefeated in four of his eight innings to average 67.50, even better than Tendulkar (65.11). Kenya -- Ravindu Shah's average is almost half of that of Dravid but his innings against Brett Lee and company after Kenya had been reduced to three for three was close to extraordinary, launched with two textbook off-side boundaries off the back foot against Lee. Shah has made 11 half-centuries in 41 games. PREVIOUS WORLD CUPS: India has appeared in every World Cup, claiming the 1983 trophy with a shock win over West Indies in the final. Despite its vast resources, however, it has not managed another final. Its low point came in 1996 when its semifinal against Sri Lanka was awarded to its opponent when the Calcutta crowd, braced for defeat, began to riot. Kenya is in its third World Cup. It went out in the first round in both 1996, despite a shock victory over West Indies, and 1999, when it did not win a game. VENUE: Kingsmead, Durban -- Capacity of 25,000, Kingsmead was the venue of the famous timeless test' between South Africa and England in 1939. The match was declared a draw after 10 days when England had to depart by train for Cape Town to catch its boat home. Kingsmead staged South Africa's first home test after international isolation, against India in 1992-93.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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