The cricket tragics who made their way to the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday afternoon were perhaps hoping that Kenya would reprise their heroics of 1996, when they upset West Indies in Pune. Instead, they saw a comfortable 60-run Australian victory that sealed a quarterfinal place.
Michael Clarke led the way with a classy 93, but the story of the day was the return of Michael Hussey, who stroked 54 from 43 balls and then affected a run-out to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the hamstring that had initially ruled him out of World Cup contention.
He and Clarke had come together with Australia in some bother at 143 for four. Three wickets had fallen for 16 runs, with Jimmy Kamande, the Kenyan captain, ripping one through Cameron White’s bat and pad in a manner reminiscent of Erapalli Prasanna, the Karnataka offspinner who Ian Chappell rated as the best he ever faced.
Both Clarke and Hussey have great memories of this venue. Clarke scored a sparkling 151 on his Test debut here in 2004, while Hussey’s first Test on Indian soil in 2008 also saw him score a hundred. On Sunday, Clarke was his usual bustling self, working the ball cleverly into leg-side gaps and thumping one over midwicket for six on his way to 93 from 83 balls.
Hussey played the supporting role in a partnership of 114, but both fell caught at long-on off Nehemiah Odhiambo as Australia scored 93 in the final 10 overs. Kenya quickly slipped to 46 for three, but any hopes of a resounding Australian win were thwarted by a doughty 115-run stand between Collins Obuya, who finished unbeaten on 98, and Tanmay Mishra, who played some superb strokes in an 89-ball 72.
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In his first World Cup eight years ago, Obuya’s legspin fetched him figures of five for 24 as Sri Lanka were shocked in Nairobi. These days, he focusses on his batting and there was a brisk 86-run partnership with Thomas Odoyo, the veteran allrounder, as Australia’s bowlers were made to look very rusty on another placid Bangalore pitch.
Back in 2003, Kenya gave Australia something of a scare in Durban on their way to a World Cup semi-final. In this tournament, their poor displays prior to this game had given ammunition to those that say the associate nations shouldn’t be at the World Cup. On Sunday, they didn’t play Steve Tikolo, the champion batsman whose best days are long gone, and Seren Waters, a 20-year-old who could be the key to their future. Despite that, they didn’t disgrace themselves.
This was Australia’s first full game in more than a fortnight – the clash with Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain – and Hussey, who replaced younger brother David in the XI, admitted that his teammates had felt the frustration.
“There are only so many net sessions you can do,” he said. “For me, it’s great to be over here. It was a bit of a pressure situation to come into, but I thought Pup [Clarke] played particularly well today.”
Hussey, who averages nearly 52 after 152 games, will be crucial to hopes of capturing a fourth successive World Cup. For now, a 33rd consecutive win in the competition sets them up nicely for greater challenges ahead.