Kenya's last chance for victory

Match Facts

March 20, Kolkata
Start time 0930 hours (0400 GMT)

The Big Picture

Kenya v Zimbabwe is a meaningless contest between two teams with one victory between them in this World Cup, so why should anyone watch it? Well, if you are a Kenyan fan, this is a must-watch because it is the last chance they have to win a game in this tournament. If you are a Zimbabwe fan, this campaign must have been painful to watch, but there could be some light at the end of the tunnel. If you are a neutral fan, watch the game to catch some entertaining characters.

Ray Price is one such character. He is enthralling to watch and reminds one of those county cricketers from the days of the yore around whom celebrated writer Neville Cardus would spin a myth. Cardus would have loved Price: He is miserly with the ball and even his run-up, if it can be called that, is miserly. Why waste energy running when you can just walk two steps and let it rip? He almost snarls at the batsmen, loves to sledge, and is known to extend his follow-through to a hand-shaking distance from the batsman. He bowls spin but has a mind of a fast bowler. And he is a fighter. His economy rate is 3.86 from 88 ODIS; not many can boast of such parsimony. It's a pity that he, and his fellow spinners, have been let down so terribly by the batsmen. The captain, Elton Chigumbura, has also been a pale shadow of the hard-hitting batsman that we know he can be. His batting and bowling has been in decline ever since he took over the captaincy - he has picked two wickets at an average of 158.50 from 19 games, and averaged 19.85 with the bat.

His opposite number, Jimmy Kamande, has had an interesting ride in this tournament. He began by talking about playing the "Kenyan brand of cricket", but was let down by his batsmen. Then there was a rumour about a rift within the team that needed his intervention before his team finally showed some admirable resistance against Australia. Tanmay Mishra, who displayed such flair and skill against the Australia spinners, will be the man to watch out for against the Zimbabwe tweakers. Collins Obuya has always been flamboyant and it will be the final farewell song for Steve Tikolo, a Kenyan legend.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Kenya LLLLL
Zimbabwe LLLWL

Watch out for...

When Steve Tikolo was younger, he used to stun the top teams with his dazzling strokeplay. Age has caught up with him in this tournament and for a batsmen who used to play late, he now seems late on deliveries. However, this is his final shot at glory and he is the type of player who is likely to rise to the occasion.

Tatenda Taibu is a player who can thrill and disappoint you in equal measure. There is so much talent to dazzle you but he can press the self-destruct button at any time. He is almost addicted to constant innovation while batting and it often leads to his demise. He has a high of 98 in this tournament but his has scored a total of 136 runs from five games. Which Taibu will turn up tomorrow? The impish version prone to self-destruction or the talented one who will thrill?

Kenya will bring back Tikolo for one last hurray and it's to be seen whether Zimbabwe bring back Charles Coventry.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brendan Taylor, 2 Regis Chakabva, 3 Tatenda Taibu (wk), 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Charles Coventry, 7 Greg Lamb, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu.

Kenya (probable): 1 Maurice Ouma (wk), 2 Alex Obanda, 3 Collins Obuya, 4 Steve Tikolo, 5 David Obuya, 6 Tanmay Mishra, 7 Thomas Odoyo, 8 Jimmy Kamande (capt), 9 Nehemiah Odhiambo, 10 James Ngoche, 11 Elijah Otieno.

Eighteen of 24 wickets Zimbabwe have taken at the World Cup have gone to their spinners

Ray Price has an economy rate of 3.54, the best along with Muttiah Muralitharan and Shahid Afridi, for bowlers who have bowled more than 15 overs in this tournament.

Quotes

"We fielded well and bowled superbly against Pakistan, but that can't be said about our batting. We have to work on it because that has been the big problem through the tournament. Besides the batting part, we've put up a big fight. My biggest concern is on the batting in the first 15 overs, especially against stronger teams. We have to really work on that when we get home."
Elton Chigumbura knows his team's Achilles heel

"Steve Tikolo is a legend. He is the man who actually made us play One-day International cricket. He is the one who made us qualify for the first time in 1996 World Cup... Hopefully, we will send him off with a win."
Jimmy Kamande hopes for the perfect farewell gift for Tikolo