Indians likely to field reserves
Ashish Shukla
Buoyed by the 41-run win against South Africa at Centurion Park on Wednesday,
the Indians are planning to give their reserve players a chance in the triangular one-day series match against Kenya
in a yet-another day-night match on Friday.
With the Kenyans not expected to pose much problems, the
Indian team management was contemplating including Reetinder
Singh Sodhi and Jacob Martin in the team.
Both Sodhi and Martin have sat out the first two games and
may be played on Friday in place of Shiv Sunder Das and Javagal
Srinath, who are likely to be given a break.
Das, who played both the games, was unable to put up a decent score on the board and is also injured having taken a
mighty blow at forward short leg. A powerful Nicky Boje shot off Anil Kumble hit him at the back of his helmet
and he had to be taken out of the ground.
Though coach John Wright on Thursday said there is nothing to
worry about Das's injury, the diminutive batsman from Orissa
would most likely make way for Martin, who impressed with
his performance in a tour match against South Africa 'A',
smashing 54 runs in Benoni.
Sodhi is the only genuine all-rounder in the team and is
very handy, both as a bowler and a fielder apart from being an
attacking batsman. With India struggling to find a fifth
bowler to complete the overs, Ganguly may be inclined to try
out Sodhi on Friday.
India are unlikely to drop either Anil Kumble or Harbhajan Singh from the line-up as both need to settle down
as a spin pair, not to speak of the first hand experience they
would have of bowling at this venue where the first Test
against South Africa is scheduled from November 3.
Almost all the Indian batsmen have looked in good form
and have scored runs in this tournament. Though batting seems
to be the least of India's worries, the fact that they have
been bogged down in the slog overs has been haunting them.
That would be one area the Indians would be looking to set
right in this match.
India are likely to face more problems in the bowling
department though, if Srinath indeed is rested. That would
mean going into the match with just one medium-pacer, Ajit
Agarkar, with Sodhi required to act his new ball partner. It
would be interesting to see how Sodhi matches up to this
challenge.
Kenya, on the other hand, would be relying heavily on
their two most experienced campaigners, captain Maurice Odumbe
and Steve Tikolo. These two form the backbone of the Kenyan
side and would be required to put on a decent score for the
team.
Kenya are also likely to opt for all the four Otieno
brothers - Kennedy, Francis, David and Collins - the last two
of whom prefer to identify themselves with the surname of
Obuya.
Kenya also have experienced cricketers in Thomas Odoyo
and Martin Suji in the medium-pace bowling department. Collins
Otieno too mixed his leg breaks well against South Africa at
Benoni on Sunday and has the capability to trouble the Indian
batsmen.
Teams (from):
India : Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul
Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Jacob Martin, Reetinder
Singh Sodhi, Deep Dasgupta, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble,
Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath.
Kenya : Maurice Odumbe (capt), Steve Tikolo, Ravindu
Shah, Kennedy Otieno, Thomas Odoyo, Hitesh Modi, Martin Suji,
Tony Suji, Francis Otieno, Brijal Patel, David Otieno and
Collins Otieno.
Umpires: Dave Orchard and Wilf Diedricks
Third umpire: Danny Becker
Match referee: Ahmed Ebrahim (Zimbabwe).
India's tour of South Africa : Complete coverage
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