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| March 20, 2003 | Thursday | Muharram 16, 1424 |
Champions praying for a Kenyan victory
JOHANNESBURG, March 19: Having ensconsed themselves in the World Cup final, to be played on a wicket that suits them, favourites Australia want minnows Kenya to join them there instead of India.
Ricky Ponting’s men entered their third successive final by crushing Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth on Tuesday on an under-done St George’s Park wicket the Aussies were wary of.
A relieved Ponting said the pitch at the Wanderers here, where the final will be played on Sunday, will be more conducive to his team.
“The Wanderers is generally one of the faster, bouncier wickets in South Africa which will play into our hands,” said Ponting.
“When we played Pakistan there was enough there for the faster bowlers, with a bit of bounce and sideways movement.”
With 10 consecutive wins in this tournament, the Australians are unlikely to be worried about who are their final opponents.
But Ponting hoped it will be Kenya, who take on India in Thursday’s second semifinal at Durban.
“They’re one of the only minnow sides that had a real crack and tried to take on the bigger sides head-on,” the Australian captain said.
Australia received a scare during their five-wicket win on Saturday night in Durban when Kenyan spinner Asif Karim pinned them against the wall with three wickets for two runs in eight overs.
“We saw that the other night,” Ponting said. “We had them in trouble early on and they fought really hard and got themselves 170 on the board and gave themselves a chance to win.
“I’m happy they are there and I will be supporting them.”
The Australians will, however, be ready for India too, particularly star batsman Sachin Tendulkar who already has a record 586 runs in the tournament.
When the two teams met last, the Australians decimated the Indians by nine wickets in the preliminary league game at Centurion after bowling them out for their lowest World Cup total of 125.
The Indians, however, picked themselves up after that defeat to post seven wins in a row with Tendulkar leading the charge.
If India beat Kenya on Thursday, the final could provide an explosive showdown between Tendulkar and the Aussie pace battery led by the fiery Brett Lee.
Lee has overshadowed seasoned team-mates like Glenn McGrath to grab 20 wickets in the tournament and has a very good chance to overtake Sri Lankan Chaminda Vaas’ record tally of 23.
Andy Bichel, who may not have played this World Cup if Jason Gillespie had been fit, has stepped in superbly to fill the breach.
Having made an unbeaten 19 off 21 balls against Sri Lanka, Bichel now boasts a Cup average of 117 and has already claimed 15 wickets at 9.33.—AFP
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