Thrash Course

After a glut in which 653 runs were scored in the opening match of the World cup between Bangladesh and India,it was time for a course correction in the second game as Kenya were bowled out by New Zealand in just 24 overs at the Chidambaram stadium in Chennai.

After a glut in which 653 runs were scored in the opening match of the World cup between Bangladesh and India,it was time for a course correction in the second game as Kenya were bowled out by New Zealand in just 24 overs at the Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. The Kiwis then took just 8 overs to complete the chase as the first game of the World Cup to be held on Indian soil ended in an anticlimax.

Kenya was never in the match and looked a long way from being the team that had made it to the 2003 WC semis. Their batting lacked in skill as well as temperament and one can only hope there isn8217;t a repeat of such one-sided games in the forthcoming matches.

The day belonged to the Kiwi fast bowling trio of Hamish Bennett,Tim Southee and Jacob Oram. Bennett who was lucky to be playing in place of an injured Kyle Mills netted 4 for 16,while Southee and Oram picked three wickets each. There was some uneven bounce in patches on the wicket and the three quickly realised the importance of hitting those parts of the pitch. Bennett in particular was immaculate in his line picked up three lbws and bowling Steve Tikolo with an unplayable yorker.

The game was an early birthday gift for Bennett,who turns 24 on Tuesday.

8220;It was only during the pre-match training session that I was told that I would be playing in the match. When such a chance is given you just have to try and take it and play like it8217;s your last game. So to have the result I had today was good and hopefully I8217;ll keep pushing my selection for every game. I tried to bowl straight and full and was able to skid off the deliveries which troubled the batsmen,8221;said Bennett.

Bennett comes into the World Cup with successful bowling performances against Pakistan at home ODI series where he took 11 wickets in six matches.

Once the Kenya openers,Seren Waters and Alex Obanda were back in the pavilion,Kenya never seemed to recover. The inexperience of the Kenyan side came to the fore as they kept playing across the line shots,thus losing wickets at regular intervals.

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Their skipper Jimmy Kamande said,8221;New Zealand bowled tight and accurate spells that put us on the backfoot. Oram,Southee and Bennett produced good bounce to put us in trouble. Our batsmen played too many cross batted shots.8221; However Kamande also blamed the performance on the lack of top level competition faced by Kenya and other Associate teams.

8220;It is disappointing that we get to play a Test team once around every two years. The standard of your cricket increases by playing against Test status teams. We play Pakistan next. I would be happy if we improve with each and every game,8221; he said.

Winning captain Daniel Vettori was more relieved than boastful about his side8217;s performance. 8220;It was good to bowl them out them so early and then chasing the target with ease. Considering the way we performed against India in the warm-up match,our quick bowlers made a remarkable comeback. They were dangerous and attacking on the field. The win would be a boost going in the next match against Australia which will be huge for us.8221;

FIGURETHIS
7 batsmendid not cross 2 runs over the course of the Kenyan innings. Only 3 scored more than 6 runs
Virender Sehwaghit more sixes 5 in his innings of 175 against Bangladesh in the World Cup opener than the Kenyans 4 in their entire innings.He also scored double the number of fours in the V 8 than Kenya.
Sehwagalso scored more runs in just the midwicket to long-on area 75 than Kenya scored in their entire innings.
Kenyatook 23.5 overs to get to 69,which was 80 balls more than what Sehwag took to get to the same score.
Bangladeshhit as many fours off one Sreesanth over 4 in the WC opener than Kenya managed in their entire innings.