Agarkar, Srinath to sit out

The way they inflicted a 10-wicket defeat on Kenya in the previous game, Wednesday's match against the same opponents in the triangular one-day series should be no more than a practice game for the Indians, who are on a high after two convincing victories in the tournament.

Despite a marked improvement in their performance against South Africa on Sunday, the Kenyans would need something close to a miracle to upstage India, especially after their captain Maurice Odumbe was suspended on Tuesday for two matches.

Odumbe's suspension by match referee Ahmed Ebrahim of Zimbabwe was a result of the Kenya captain's outbursts against umpire Dave Orchard after the nine-wicket defeat to South Africa in Kimberly on Sunday.

Odumbe had referred to Orchard as "one gentleman out there who was not friendly towards us".

His suspension means Kenya, who have lost all their three matches in the tournament so far, will be without one of their batting mainstays, who had topscored with 60 in the previous match.

And though captain Sourav Ganguly sounded the customary "we are not taking them (Kenya) lightly", the fact remains that the Indians would take this opportunity to give their reserve players the much-needed match practice ahead of sterner battles against South Africa.

Ganguly confirmed that Punjab all-rounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Railways paceman Harvinder Singh, two players who have not got a single game on this tour so far, would play in Wednesday's match, as would Venkatesh Prasad and Jacob Martin.

Prasad and Martin figured in one match each but while the Karnataka medium pacer took a hammering from South African batsmen in the opening match in Johannesburg, Martin did not get a chance to bat in the 10-wicket defeat of Kenya at Bloemfontein.

"We would give everyone a chance," Ganguly said, after the team's practice session at the St George's Park on Tuesday. "It means Prasad, Sodhi, Harvinder Singh and Jacob Martin would all play."

But he could name just two players to be left out of the game and that may not include Virender Sehwag, who he had on Monday named as the one to be rested.

"As of now we are still sorting that out. But both Tendulkar and I would play... What is certain is that Ajit Agarkar and Javagal Srinath would not be playing tomorrow," Ganguly said.

Yuvraj Singh, who is still to fully recover from viral fever, is another player who may be left out.

With the trio of Ganguly, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid all in good nick, the Indians should not have many worries in their batting department. Sodhi and Martin are no novices with the bat and wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta has also shown good skill and temperament as a batsman.

The last two matches have proved the effectiveness of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh on these pitches. They are certain to play on Tuesday and should prove more than a handful for the Kenyans.

Even with the changes, the odds are heavily tilted in favour of India and while it would be too much to expect Kenya to pull off a victory, they would do well to put up a competitive display and further improve on their performance.

The Indians once again have an opportunity to pick up a bonus point though Ganguly said he is mainly concerned with winning the match.

"We have played some good cricket in the last few weeks. But it would be too early to predict anything in this game," he said.

The Kenyans have shown some talent in their batting, especially in their previous game where three of their players scored half centuries. In the absence of Odumbe, Steve Tikolo, one of the most experienced campaigners, would have to share a major burden of scoring runs.

It was good to see Ravindu Shah and Thomas Odoyo display attacking batting against the high class pace bowling of the South Africans and Kenya would require a similar, if not better, performance from them against India on Wednesday.

Bowling is another area of concern for the Kenyans. Their spinners like Collins Obuya and Brijal Patel have done far better than the medium-pacers and it would not be surprising if they go into the game with a predominantly spin attack.

Kenya's relatively good performance against South Africa has raised the interest in the day-night match, with more than 5,000 tickets already sold - a marked improvement from the last match between the two teams at Bloemfontein, where the spectators could literally be counted.

Port Elizabeth is reputedly a sports-friendly city and spectators turn out in large numbers for any contest - a reason why it has been given a chance to host a semi-final of the 2003 World Cup.

The wicket has a bit of grass on it but the Indians were more concerned about the bumpy outfield at the St George's Park. The outfield really looks rough and it would not be to the liking of the fielders standing in the deep.

Teams (from):
India: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Jacob Martin, Yuvraj Singh, Shiv Sunder Das, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Deep Dasgupta (wk), Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh.

Kenya: Steve Tikolo, Martin Suji, Kennedy Otieno, Hitesh Modi, Ravindu Shah, Thomas Odoyo, Tony Suji, Lameck Onyango, Mohammed Sheikh, Jimmy Kamande, Peter Ocheing, Josephat Ababu, Colliens Otieno.

India's tour of South Africa : Complete coverage

Mail Cricket Editor