This match always promised to be a walk in the park for the Indians. In the end it turned out to be just a couple of steps. Kenya won the toss, elected to bat first, and folded for 90. India overhauled this total in just 11.3 overs. This was the easiest match the Indians have played for a while -- even the warm-up game against Nicky Oppenheimer's XI was a bigger challenge. In the light of the way the Kenyans have played their first two matches, organisers of such events must surely wonder whether to bother inviting them. They may make up the numbers, but at no stage do they look like competing. Matches like this end up as no more than glorified net sessions for the other teams.

It wasn't always like this. Kenya's team at the 1996 World Cup had much the same main players -- Tikolo, Odumbe, Kennedy Obuya -- as they do now, and it looked like a team for the future. The difference here hasn't been in terms of talent, but in attitude. An underdog normally comes out fighting, nipping at the toes of its adversary, as that `96 team did when they beat West Indies. This team came out wincing in advance, expecting to get thrashed. Their batsmen, bar Tony Suji at the end, showed no gumption at all, and their bowling was singularly uninspired. Even the captaincy was dour and negative. The Kenyans appeared to harbour no hopes of worrying India, and looked relieved to be off the field when the match was over.

India are probably now ruing the fact that Kenya won the toss and chose to bat. If the Indians had batted first, at least the match might have offered some entertaiment, and India's batsmen would have got in some meaningful practice. Who knows what Ganguly and Tendulkar might have done? The first double-hundred in one-dayers, perhaps?

India did take some positives from this match. Ajit Agarkar's bowling was a revelation. Incompetent batsmen tend to make good bowling look great, but the way he bowled today, Agarkar would have troubled anyone. He bowled with a fire that seemed to come from deep in the belly, after all the media criticism of him in recent times, and got his first two wickets by beating the batsmen with sheer pace. He pitched the ball right in the slot, got some to skid through low and some to bounce unexpectedly and, most importantly, bowled with great control throughout. Discipline has rarely been a hallmark of Agarkar's bowling, and although he was a little loose at the end, his figures of 10-2-27-4 suggest that he is finally coming of age.

You can't say the same for Javagal Srinath, though. He began with three extras in his first over, and when he didn't overstep, he compensated by pitching it wide. His legal deliveries were on the mark to begin with, but his bowling gradually degenerated and, had it not been for the quality of the opposition, he would certainly have been taken to the cleaners again. Such a fate might just be what awaits him if Venkatesh Prasad does not replace him for the next match against South Africa.

Anil Kumble excelled, as he always does against weak opposition, and finished with figures of 3 for 13 from his 10 overs. Harbhajan Singh got a wicket as well, and Ganguly got in a few overs. It was no more than easy practice for them -- tougher challenges lie ahead.

Virender Sehwag and Deep Dasgupta were sent out to open, a smart move by Ganguly to give his lower-order batsmen some time in the middle. The quality of the bowling was abysmal, with lots of short, wide deliveries, and Sehwag punished the loose balls with impunity as he helped himself to the easiest half-century he is likely to make in international cricket. Dasgupta looked competent, and played with a refreshing assurance. This stint will stand him in good stead if he is needed for some quick runs in the coming matches.

Kenya's run rate in this match was 1.8 runs per over. India galloped away at 8.3 an over. Going by those statistics, they could have beaten Kenya four times over. And that says it all.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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