DURBAN - No team playing in a World Cup semifinal could be described as being in a no-win situation, but India may feel they will come close to it against Kenya tomorrow.
Fear of defeat, indeed, might be as strong a motivation as India's desire to contest their first final since
1983.
Sourav Ganguly's side know they cannot afford to lose. Their fans, who have already shown how volatile they can be during this tournament, would never forgive them.
The Kingsmead day-nighter should be no contest. India, with Sachin Tendulkar in ominous form and their three-pronged pace attack as confident as they have been impressive, have won seven matches in succession. Kenya are among their victims.
An eighth consecutive win would equal India's record.
Kenya, meanwhile, are a non-test side full of 30-somethings, none of whom would get in the India starting X1.
Good fortune, enthusiasm and a couple of fine performances have taken them to the last four, but it would be unthinkable for the East Africans to reach the tournament climax.
"Playing Kenya is better than facing any other side," Ganguly said.
"But we want to be up for the game because Kenya have surprised quite a few teams."
Earlier in the tournament Tendulkar called on Indian fans to have patience after they pelted batsman Mohammad Kaif's house with paint and burned an effigy of Ganguly following the team's mediocre start to the tournament.
India have only lost to Kenya twice in 11 one-day meetings.
Kenyan coach Sandeep Patil - coincidentally a member of India's 1983 cup-winning squad - retains hopes of an upset, however.
"We are confident of doing well if we stick to the basics," he said.
"Every batsman, even Tendulkar, is weak around the off-stump. If our bowlers show discipline and we field well, anything can happen."
Kenyan opener Ravindu Shah also helped to boost their collective confidence with as good a display against Australia strike bowler Brett Lee as anyone has produced at the World Cup.
His 46, compiled after Lee had sent Kennedy Otieno to hospital and taken a hat-trick to reduce Kenya to three for three, oozed class.
Tendulkar is on the verge of being named the player of the tournament, but the maestro would rather hold the silverware instead.
"Winning for India is more important than any record or award," the record-breaking batsman has always insisted.
Tendulkar has lived up to his reputation as the most prolific batsman of modern times by scoring a record 586 runs in nine matches so far, breaking his own cup record of 523, set in 1996.
He has almost single-handedly inspired India to seven successive wins after a pathetic start when they failed to last 50 overs against the Netherlands and were shot out for their lowest cup total of 125 by Australia.
Tendulkar launched the comeback with 81 against Zimbabwe, 152 against Namibia, a brilliant 98 off 75 balls against the likes of Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram, and 97 against Sri Lanka.
That has already won multi-millionaire Tendulkar three gold watches for being man of the match against Zimbabwe, Namibia and Pakistan. One more award in tomorrow's game - or the final on Sunday if India make it as expected - will win him the player of the tournament award, presented by the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers, of the West Indies, widely acclaimed as the greatest allrounder of all time.
Tendulkar's performance will have finally silenced a growing band of critics who said he might have set new batting benchmarks but rarely won matches for India.
It was evident from the start that Tendulkar was focused on helping India to World Cup glory, just as Kapil Dev's side had done 20 years ago when the modern master was aged nine.
As an 18-year-old in his first World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 1992, Tendulkar saw India fail to make the semifinals.
Four years later, crowd trouble in Calcutta saw the hosts being knocked out of the semifinals.
The 1999 World Cup in England was both tragic and a disappointment for Tendulkar, who was forced to return home because of the death of his father in Mumbai.
He came back to score a century against Kenya, but failed to take India past the Super Sixes.
Ganguly and coach John Wright helped Tendulkar's cause at this cup by returning him to the opening slot, where he has scored all but one of his record 34 one-day centuries.
His thrilling batting has prompted Australian great Greg Chappell to label him a "genius . . . virtually unmatched in the modern game."
- AGENCIES
* The match will be telecast live on Sky Sport channels 10 and 12 from 12.30am.
World Cup schedule
Points table
Cricket: Indians could not bear cup defeat
DURBAN - No team playing in a World Cup semifinal could be described as being in a no-win situation, but India may feel they will come close to it against Kenya tomorrow.
Fear of defeat, indeed, might be as strong a motivation as India's desire to contest their first final since
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