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Kenya fell giants
Wisden CricInfo staff - October 16, 2001

Kenya (246 for 6; KO Obuya 64, TM Odoyo 51, RD Shah 50) beat India (176 all out, J Angara 3-30) by 70 runs
Scorecard

To Pune in 1996 and Gwalior in 1998, you can now add Port Elizabeth, in 2001. Kenyan cricket's golden moments have been few and far between and their 70-run victory over India will have pride of place in the scrapbook for some time to come. Their score of 246 was about par for this course, although few could have foreseen the Indians collapsing in such abysmal fashion. The much-maligned Kenyan bowlers came up trumps as the simple virtues of line and length proved enough to get the better of a complacent Indian side. With their captain serving a two-match suspension and their manager in hospital awaiting a heart-bypass operation, few would have given the Kenyans any chance, even after Steve Tikolo won the toss and elected to bat first on a placid track. Kenya's innings was built around two solid partnerships. Kennedy Obuya and Ravindu Shah batted with flair and determination in the early stages as Kenya sought to exorcise the demons of Bloemfontein when they were routed for 91. Obuya struck three towering sixes as India's stand-in new-ball bowlers -- Venkatesh Prasad and Harvinder Singh -- came in for harsh punishment. Shah's was a classy effort, and he was particularly severe on anything pitched short or wide. It took the innocuous left-arm spin of Yuvraj Singh to break the partnership. Obuya went after a well-flighted delivery and sent it straight down Sachin Tendulkar's throat at long-off (121 for 1). Shah followed soon after, when a pre-determined sweep off Harbhajan Singh was easily caught by Yuvraj at square leg (123 for 2). Tikolo and a belligerent Thomas Odoyo put the innings back on track with some innovative strokeplay and quick running; Odoyo put his captain in the shade with some powerful strokes square of the wicket. They added 80 in just 14 overs before the spinners came back to apply the brakes. First to strike was Harbhajan, who beat Tikolo with a beautifully pitched-up delivery (203 for 3). Odoyo -- who smashed his way to 51 in even time -- was then outfoxed by Anil Kumble, his huge heave over the leg side going to Jacob Martin in the deep (213 for 4). Prasad and Harvinder battled back well at the end, varying their pace cleverly as the Kenyan innings lost some of its momentum. Prasad picked up two wickets at the death; Collins Obuya was caught by Reetinder Sodhi running in from cover (220 for 5) and then David Obuya -- whose bat swished merrily in a cameo of 26 -- was bowled by a slower one (243 for 6). India's run chase never left the hangar, let alone the runway. Joseph Angara bowled four successive maiden overs in a surreal opening phase. Sourav Ganguly and Tendulkar resembled sleepy tailenders as the runs came in a trickle. Angara then delivered the first shock to the system, bowling Tendulkar off the inside edge (7 for 1). Ganguly cut loose with two successive sixes off Angara before Odoyo pegged India right back with the first ball of his spell. It was a bizarre dismissal, the ball pitching outside Ganguly's leg stump and hitting it after catching the thigh pad (40 for 2). Rahul Dravid and Martin plugged the holes for a while before Tony Suji broke the back of the innings in a sensational over. First, he got Dravid to edge one through to the wicketkeeper (60 for 3) and then Yuvraj Singh chopped the first ball he faced onto his stumps (60 for 4) to send the few Kenyan supporters into delirium. Martin and Sodhi played some defiant strokes as the asking-rate mounted. Martin struggled at times to find the gaps while Sodhi went for the big hits and scampered the singles when he could. It took a catch of stunning brilliance from Collins Obuya to break the partnership. A wide delivery from Angara was cut powerfully away by Sodhi. Just as eyes went to the point fence, Obuya dived full-length to his right to pluck the ball inches from the ground. A disbelieving Sodhi stood his ground for several moments before trudging off (97 for 5). Angara followed that up by bowling Martin with a peach of a delivery. Pitched on a length, it nipped back a shade to send the off stump cartwheeling (100 for 6). The following over Collins Obuya bowled Anil Kumble off the inside edge (103 for 7). By the time Deep Dasgupta and Harbhajan Singh decided to prolong the Kenyan celebrations for a little while the match was already lost. Dasgupta made 19 before hanging his bat out to a delivery from Martin Suji (135 for 8). Harbhajan was unorthodoxy personified during his knock of 37 but far more effective than his more illustrious compatriots. He carted the bowlers around, benefiting from a couple of spilled catches, before Odoyo had him caught by Shah, running back from midwicket. Odoyo delivered the coup de grace as well, knocking back Harvinder's stumps. It capped a superb allround performance from him, but a pathetic display from India. They will still make the final but this excuse for a display will give them nightmares for some time.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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