India coach John Wright effectively dismissed Kenya's World Cup semi-final challenge on Tuesday by suggesting his players were destined to lift the trophy.

Wright told a new conference: "I feel their time is right."

India must beat Kenya in Thursday's day-nighter to reach the final at The Wanderers in Johannesburg but Wright, normally so diplomatic, appeared to reject any possibility of defeat.

Asked if India's leading batsman Sachin Tendulkar is on course to become the player of the tournament, he said: "He still has got two more games to play, two very important innings.

"Sachin Tendulkar has been a great leader for us in this tournament, along with some of our other senior players as well."

Tendulkar has scored a record 586 runs at almost a run a ball in the World Cup, at an average of 65.11.

Victory against Kenya, who they beat earlier in the tournament, will give India an eighth win in succession, matching their national record.

Wright said consistency in selection had been a key to the team's recent success.

"We have been a rather settled side and the selectors deserve credit for that. We have been coming together since March last year."

Kenya, who are seeking Test status, have beaten Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at the World Cup. They lost to India by seven wickets in the Super Sixes in Cape Town and have only won two of the teams' 11 meetings.

Share your comments

What do you think about the story? Read what others have to say: Number of User Comments: 10 Sub: india and wright the jell toghether well now that india is in the semis that every one thinks that india is destined to win the cup. i always knew that india had ... Posted by mrinal Sub: Time is right but what about technique and temperament? It is fair to expect an India-Australia final but I am not sure that one can expect India to win the world cup. Here are ... Posted by Arjun Guha Sub: RE:Laxman for Mongia only matche India lost came against Australia cuz of Brett Lee and Mcgrath spitted fire against our batsmen.Laxman played really well against these pacers in ... Posted by venkat Sub: RE:Agarker for Mongia I think Bangar would be a better choice to Agarker. But, I would not change the winning combination for the next two matches. Posted by Kiran Sub: RE:Agarker for Mongia Dear Friend, I guess this would be a disaster to change the combination of 7 batsmen + 4 bowlers at such an important stage of ... Posted by Ram Gopal Garg