India squeeze home after a few gasps

And then, showing they’d lost none of their old habits of loose batting, contrived to reach 24/3 before Ganguly, ably assisted by Dravid and Yuvraj, led his team home.

Had the Indians showed the discipline they have done in the previous games, the game would have been won more easily, the Kenyans would have folded up for a lot less. As it was, Kennedy Otieno took full advantage of the three lives he was given to rack up 79.

The innings was marked by helpless and hapless bowling, a visibly frustrated skipper, shows of temper and general chaos; if there’s any silver lining, it is that such a display came against Kenya and not opponents who’d exploit the mistakes more fully.

Indeed, the Indians didn’t look like a team brimming with confidence and riding on the back of five wins in the six matches so far. The maximum alert in the pressure games against England and Pakistan seemed hard to duplicate; there were, in fact, times when bowlers or the skipper had to repeatedly shout fielding instructions to those on the fence as their attention spans wavered.

In case Ganguly feels this is unhealthy criticism, read the facts: Three of the best Indians fielders came up with sloppy efforts that they wouldn’t like to repeat.

Harbhajan Singh groped for a Kennedy Obuya mishit off Ashish Nehra at square leg as though he was chasing an errant chicken. He later blamed it on the sun in his face, and had the grace to take off his shades as he did so.

Dinesh Mongia — in the side, remember, for his fielding — belied the hours he spends slip-catching at nets by dropping Ravindu Shah when it mattered most.

That could qualify as a difficult chance but when he overran a skier on the square leg fence those who said that it was fielding that saw him replace VVS Laxman in side were made to eat their words.

During all this Mohammad Kaif, at short cover, wasn’t to be left out. The man who so dramatically ran out Nick Knight at Kingsmead to start the English slide saw the ball bouncing out of his hands off a shot from Obuya.

Ironically, the first dismissal was through a run out, Zaheer Khan hitting the stumps with a direct hit.

With enemies like these who needs friends; Kennedy Otieno relished his good luck all through the innings. His 79 had two sixes and six fours. But Kenya’s agenda from the start was simply to last the 50 overs. Despite the dead track and great batting conditions they didn’t step on the pedal. When they did, catches were spooned. And when they did, catches were spilled.