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Last chance for Kenya to restore its image

S. Sabanayakan

KOLKATA: Having lost all its matches, Kenya will get a final chance to restore its sagging image against Zimbabwe at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.

With one of Kenya's finest players, Steve Tikolo, set to play his last international game, a Kenyan victory will be an apt send-off for the 39-year-old.

Zimbabwe, which has performed better than Canada and Kenya, will be looking to end on a winning note.

On paper and current form, Zimbabwe looks the better of the two.

The Elton Chigumbura-led team has some good talent in Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu and Chris Mpofu.

Team's coach Alan Butcher, however, was cautious on his team's chances. “As an opponent we respect Kenya,'' he said. “We are making sure that we do our homework well.”

Important match

Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande said his team wanted to win the game. “It does not matter who we play. It is an important match for us and we want to win and get those two points,'' he said.

Kamande said the final XI would be named only after seeing the conditions.

He expected some of the young members to stand up and be counted, especially when the team was languishing at the bottom of the table. Collins Obuya, who has scored 242 in five matches, is the outstanding batsman for Kenya.

Coach unhappy

The Zimbabwe coach is, however, unhappy with the team's batting. “Our batting has been a big disappointment. We have not given our spin attack enough chance to win us games,'' he rued.

The teams (from):

Kenya: Jimmy Kamande (captain), Tanmay Mishra, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Elijah Otieno, Morris Ouma, Rakep Patel, Steve Tikolo and Seren Waters.

Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura (captain), Regis Chakabva, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Terry Duffin, Craig Ervine, Greg Lamb, Shingirai Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Tinashe Panyangara, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor and Prosper Utseya.

Umpires: Asoka de Silva and Kumar Dharmasena.

Third umpire: Ian Gould.

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle.

Match starts at 9.30 a.m.

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