Australia vs Kenya – ICC World Cup 2011 match preview

The Kenyan cricket team has yet another tough task ahead of them as they face defending champions Australia in the 31st match of the ICC World Cup 2011 on Sunday (March 13) at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

The Aussies will go into the match as the clear favourites. Their recent form has been outstanding and with the inclusion of veteran batsman Michael Hussey their batting line-up looks more solid than ever.

But the biggest threat to the Kenyan side is from their fast bowling. The Kangaroos’ pace battery consisting of Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait and Brett Lee is probably the best in the tournament.

Kenyan batsman Seren Waters is wary of the opposition’s pace bowlers. “I don't think there is another attack in the world comparable to that. They've got three of the quickest bowlers in the world and they're coming one after the other, so there's no real respite. It's going to be an experience,” he said.

However, the batsman is confident that his side will perform well against the Kangaroos. Kenya has so far, failed to show any resistance to the Test-playing teams in their group.

The right-hand batsman was very realistic in his approach to the game and said, “We’d hope to give Australia a good game. Winning would be something you'd probably dream about. Realistically, having seen the way we've played so far, it's probably something not many people are expecting. But to give them a good game is our target.”

The pitch at Bangalore is more suited to batsmen and out of three matches played there in this World Cup, two have seen both teams scoring more than 300 runs.

Team form

Considering the form of the players this is a total mismatch. The Aussies are ranked number one in the world in One Day Internationals (ODIs). They may not be as strong in Tests as they were a couple of years ago, but in ODIs, they are still the top rated. They defeated arch-rivals England 6-1 in a home series in January and are undefeated in this edition of the World Cup. From the last five, they have won four matches whereas the match against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain.

The Kenyans, on the other hand, are not in the best of forms. They have lost all four matches of this tournament and will be hoping for a reverse in fortunes.

Key players

Doug Bollinger’s injury seems like a blessing in disguise for the Aussies as Michael Hussey, who was initially dropped from the squad because of a hamstring injury, has rejoined the outfit and is raring to go in this World Cup. Mitchell Johnson has been bowling with great venom. He’ll be hoping to continue doing that.

Over at the Kenyan camp, Steve Tikolo is an experienced campaigner and the young Kenyan cricketers look up to him. He’ll be looking to inspire them in this match. Tanmay Mishra played well against Canada and will be hoping to do something similar in this game.

Australia: (probable XI)

Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin(wicket-keeper), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Cameron White, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza/ Steve Smith, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.

Kenya: (probable XI)

Maurice Ouma (wicket-keeper), Seren Waters, Collins Obuya, Steve Tikolo, Tanmay Mishra, Rakep Patel, Jimmy Kamande (captain), Thomas Odoyo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Shem Ngoche, Elijah Otieno.

Pakistan Vs Kenya ICC World Cup 2011 Match Preview

For Pakistan it’s their ICC World Cup 2011 opener and for Kenya it’s the second game in the campaign. The match between a team known for controversies Pakistan Vs Kenya a minnow that started off the world cup campaign with a loss is relatively a bigger chance for Pakistan to gain in some points.

Pakistan coming from a loss to England in the warm up matches is looking for a big knock in the world cup opener where as Kenya will look forward to rattle the vulnerable Pakistan in the early rounds of big tournament in the cricketing world. The match will be a good test for Pakistan to test player’s confidence ahead of big challenges scheduled soon in the later stages. Indeed it will decide their stance against the pressure of match fixing scandals which the team is facing since the tour of England.

For Kenya, though it lost to New Zealand in the early match that too with one of the five lowest scores in the world cup history will boost the chances to stand up in the later stages at least till the quarter finals.

Pitch Report:

Pakistan Vs Kenya is scheduled at Hambantota, Sri Lanka where the home team tore the Canadian line up in a tremendous way just on the second day of WC 2011. As it showed then, more score is expected tomorrow too but wind may play a spoilsport which is dry in conditions with smattering grass. Besides it also needs bigger hitters to satisfy the vast boundary lines at Hambantota. It needs some initial application.

Pakistan:

Ahmed Shehzad who is for the first time playing his world cup match has been moved up to open the batting line up along with Mohammad Hafeez who is carrying a dry score chart since his century in Napier during January. Shehzad with two centuries this month however looked pale in warm up against England. Hope the openers may rewrite ever known Pakistan’s aggressive opening partnerships. Adding on to openers Younis Khan and Misbah ul-Haq are the players to look out as they did well during warm up matches and indeed Akmal brothers too are expected in knocking good score at middle order.

On the bowling side, Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul in combination are expected to unearth the Kenyan’s opening strength while Riaz, Younis Khan and Sohail Tanvir will shine their bowling trends during the later half of the innings. Indeed a turning point wicket taker Afridi too is expected to do some magic between the wickets.

Kenya:

Coming from an opening debacle against New Zealand, Kenya is firmly looking on to prove that it belongs to this stage of World Cup hence their openers are expected to pop up from a debacle like a refreshed score pullers though they can face Afridi and Gul with a new ball. Coming on to their bowling side none of their bowlers showed good results during the first match but they are hoping for the full match to showcase their bowling abilities against Pakistan. They are carrying less prospects from New Zealand match as they bowled only 8 over’s.

Our Predictions:

It’s obvious to guess on once a world cup winner to gain the advantage in this match too against a minnow but as the opponent Kenya too in a position to prove their chance in the tournament, the results are much awaited.