Coca-Cola to take on Rasna at 5 price point

MUMBAI: Coca-Cola India is re-entering the Rs 300 crore branded powdered ready-to-drink market after it pulled the plug on its Sunfill brand six years ago. Interestingly, the global beverage maker has chosen the Rs 5 price point to make a comeback to the space dominated by home-grown brand Rasna. Coca-Cola will hitch a ride on its orange soft drink brand Fanta for its return. However, the company plans to test market the product before going pan-India. 

India is the only market where the world's largest beverage maker is getting into the concentrate category with Fanta and only the fifth market where a powdered offering of any of its brands would be made available. Confectionery maker Cadbury India, part of Kraft Foods, has also recently upped its ante with its Tang brand in this market. The orange flavour is also the largest segment in the powdered soft drink industry where Rasna controls over 90 % of the market. 

Talking to TOI, Srinivas Murthy, director, marketing (flavours), Coca-Cola India, said, "We are targeting the consumer segment at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid as we will introduce the product at an attractive price point. Even the retail touch points chosen for the product will be the traditional FMCG outlets where you do not need refrigeration to store the product the way it is for bottled soft-drinks." 

Coca-Cola introduced the Sunfill brand in 2001 to take on Rasna but withdrew the product after four years. The company said it was ahead of the time then. After taking a time-off, it now intends to use the learnings of its past venture for the launch of this new product-Fanta Fun Times. This was also the time when the 200 ml soft-drink used to be priced at Rs 5. "The market wasn't ready then and the segment was yet to evolve to the level where a ready-to-drink as well as powdered offering for the same brand could exist," Murthy said. The company may look at launching more brands in this category if the script goes according to plan. 

Fanta has 9% share of the Rs 9,000 crore soft drink market and stacks up below Thums Up, Coca-Cola and Sprite in the Cola-Cola portfolio. Along with rival PepsiCo's Mirinda, the orange flavoured drinks have a combined market share of 15%. 

Coca-Cola is globally present in the powdered beverage market with brands like Eight O' Clock juice and juice drink in Philippines and the Sunfill brand in Hong Kong, Kenya and the US. 

The Rs 5 entry level price point was first introduced by soft drinks makers in early 2000 but was raised to Rs 8-9 a few years later as it put strain on their bottomlines. "For FMCG companies, these low-unit packs have been used as a strategy to build the brand appeal. They act like brand ambassadors even as they contribute a major chunk of volume sales," said Harish Bijoor, a brand consultant. The Rs 5 entry price point has been traditionally used by pure play FMCG companies to penetrate households in the lower income group seen as a large opportunity for marketers. Categories such as tea, shampoo, biscuits, chips, soaps have proved commercially viable for companies.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Coca-Cola-to-take-on-Rasna-at-5-price-point/articleshow/8022169.cms

Can vs Ken: Hansra, Bagai lead Canada to 5-wicket win

Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra put 132 runs for the fourth wicket as Canada beat Kenya by five wickets in their World Cup Group A match at the Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on Monday. Score

Chasing 199, the duo helped Canada reach the total in the 46th over. This was after team-mate Henry Osinde scalped four wicket to bundle Kenya for 198. Osinde earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his efforts.

In the fourth over of the innings, Elijah Otieno scalped Canada opener Rizwan Cheema when the score was 19. Cheema tried to play a pull shot on a short ball from Otieno but missed the line and was completely beaten as the ball crashed into his stumps. he fell for 17.

In the 10th over Zubin Surkari got run out and Kenya lost their second wicket on 37/2. He scored 10. An over later Ruvindu Gunasekera was stumped out in James Ngoche's over with keeper Maurice Ouma performing the final rites. He fell for 18 and Canada to 48/3.

Three wickets down and the score not too impressive, it was time for the Canadian batsmen to forge a partnership. And that's when skipper Ashish Bagai and Jimmy Hansra into into the picture. Batting impressively and patiently the two helped Canada cross the 100-run mark in the 25th over. 

Deep into their partnership the two decided to go according to the book. While Hansra upped the tempo hitting boundaries and over the fence shots, Bagai chose to go steady and provide Hansra with support from the other end. The two batted on to put 132 runs for the fourth wicket before Hansra fell to Nehemiah Odhiamboin the 43rd over of the innings. He went for an aerial shot but James Ngoche in the deep claimed a fine catch to send him back on 70. Canada score at the stage was 180/4. His 70-run innings was punctuated with seven fours and two sixes.

But skipper Bagai was still at the crease and he batted on to help Canada win by five wickets. Bagai remained unbeaten on 64, scoring six seven fours on the way. Canada reached the target in the 46th over when an Elijah Otieno ball was driven towards the boundary by Bagai and Canada score read 199/5 in 45.3 overs.

Canada innings 

Canada's Henry Osinde scalped four as Kenya were bundled out for 198. Earlier, Kenya won the toss and elected to bat. But, the decision didn't really go in their favour as they lost their opener Maurice Ouma to Henry Osinde on the second ball of the innings.

Soon the other opener Seren Waters too departed with Osinde claiming him in the fifth over. Kenya fell to 7/2.

But that wasn't the end of the misery for Kenya as they lost two more wickets with Osinde claiming David Obuya on the last ball of the seventh over and Harvir Baidwan scalped Collins Obuya in the 12 over to reduce Kenya to 41/4. 

Experienced batsman Steve Tikolo (12) too could not stay at the crease for long. As Rizwan Cheema accounted for his wicket on the last ball of the 15th over to push Kenya to 57/5.

After these assaults, Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande and Tanmay Mishra tired to revive the innings with their partnership. The duo batted on to help Kenya cross 100-run mark. But their partnership came to an end when a Balaji Rao's turner got the better of him on 109/6. He got out for 22 after a 52-run partnership with Mishra.

But their innings was far from over as soon Mishra forged a partnership with Thomas Odoyo. Mishra took the onus of pushing up the run-rate. He dealt in singles and doubles to counter the Canadian attack. But, no sooner had he crossed his half-century that he fell.

John Davison lured Mishra into playing a big hit with a flighted delivery. He took the bait and went for an aerial shot but ended up giving a catch to Zubin Surkari at mid-off. He fell for 51 and Kenya went a wicket down to 166/7 in 42.1 overs.

From here on it was easy for the Canadians, who went for the kill and wrapped up their innings in good time. Thomas Odoyo scored 51 before being bowled out by Harvir Baidwan on the last ball.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/131724/sports/can-vs-ken-match-report.html

Preview: New Zealand vs Zimbabwe , 18th Match

This may not be the David vs. Goliath encounter that we have come to see many times over the past few days. New Zealand have endured torrid form off late, being walloped by Bangladesh, India and then Pakistan while Zimbabwe troubles too have not been much less. The African side however, need not look farther than the Ireland-England game for inspiration after the minnows' stunning win against the English. Canada too produced a superb performance to trouble Pakistan. Is another upset on the cards? 

New Zealand 

After rather disastrous World Cup preparations, New Zealand got off to a flyer, skittling Kenya out for an embarrassing 69 before romping home in just 48 balls. Hamish Bennett was the undoubted star in that match with some hostile bowling. In their next encounter, an emotionally charged battle against Australia, they lost to the rivals. Nathan McCullum was one of the few players to have a good outing with the bat, top scoring with a fifty while the rest struggled to come to terms with the pace Brett Lee and Shaun Tait produced. 

Their batting was woefully exposed against pace in that match, and Zimbabwe could do well to use that to their advantage. Their batting on recent occasions has depended heavily on the lower order or individual brilliance, but it would be the ideal opportunity for them to work as a team against Zimbabwe. 

Their bowling delivered the goods in emphatic fashion against Kenya but could not repeat the performance against a red hot Australia. They have a good mix of pace and spin to trouble the top teams, but are very inconsistent. Talisman and captain Daniel Vettori has often been the lone fighter for New Zealand with consistent performances and New Zealand will want the others bowlers to contribute too. 

Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe will come into the game with more confidence than the Black Caps after they thumped the Canadians in the previous match with Tatenda Taibu, Craig Ervine and Ray Price doing the bulk of the damage for the African side. 

From the batting front, Zimbabwe seemed to have a settled line up with Brendon Taylor, Tatenda Taibu, Craig Ervine and captain Elton Chigumbura capable of taking the game away from the opposition. They will, however, have a much tougher task against NZ. 

Ray Price, a bowler who has a run up that matches menacing fast bowlers at times, is Zimbabwe's most attacking option. The left armer bowls with great discipline and is at his threatening best when bowlers try to go after him. Zimbabwe will be reliant on the spinner to give them quick wickets as they aim to get their second win under their belts. 

Head to Head 

New Zealand and Zimbabwe have played each other 28 times before and the Kiwis have come out on top on 19 occasions and have been part of a tie once. Zimbabwe have won 7 times. One match was called off. 

Quotes 

Ross Taylor: As a batting unit we need to step up and score about 300-330 which is the par score in this tournament. We are all very talented. We are getting out there in the middle and just getting ourselves out. It's frustrating but we know we are not far away from that one good performance. 

Ray Price : It is very important for us (the win against Canada). But you try not to think too much of that because in cricket if you think about the results then you forget about what you are supposed to do and control the areas you are supposed to bowl at.

Source:-http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/37536/preview:-new-zealand-vs-zimbabwe--18th-match/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CricbuzzFeed+(Cricbuzz:+Cricket+Scores+and+News)

Malinga's hat-trick help Sri Lanka beat Kenya by nine wickets

Pacer Lasith Malinga made a grand entry into the World Cup by notching up an unprecedented second hat-trick in the mega event as Sri Lanka crushed minnows Kenya by nine wickets in a group A match in Colombo on Tuesday. 

Sri Lanka bowled out Kenya for a meagre 142 with Malinga, playing his first match of the tournament, single-handedly destroying Kenya with a career-best six-wicket haul.

And replying, the hosts cruised to 146 for one in just 18.4 overs with Tillakaratne Dilshan (44), Upul Tharanga (67 unbeaten) and skipper Kumar Sangakkara (27 unbeaten) scoring freely.

Malinga also earned the distinction of becoming the first bowler to take a hat-trick in World Cup for the second time as he first achieved the feat earlier in the 2007 edition against South Africa.

It was also the second hat-trick of the ongoing World Cup in as many days after West Indies' Kemar Roach produced the first against the Netherlands in Delhi on Monday.

Obuya brothers -- Collins (52) and David (51) -- were the only batsmen from Kenya to reach the double-digit mark and it was because of their fighting 92-run third-wicket stand that the African nation could reach near the 150-run mark.

Malinga, who had not played the first two games due to a back problem, accounted for four opposition wickets, including a hat-trick, in a span of 12 balls at the R Premadasa stadium.

Kenya's lower middle-order spoilt the hardwork of Obuya brothers as they lost their last eight wickets for just 40 runs.

Opting to bat, Kenya found the Lankan pace duo of Malinga (6/38) and Nuwan Kulasekara (1/18) too hot to handle as they lost openers -- Maurice Ouma and Seren Waters -- for just eight runs.

Kulasekera struck early for the home team, trapping Ouma in the second over with a delivery that moved in after pitching. The batsman went for the review but TV umpire upheld the decision.

Malinga soon got into the act and trapped Waters in the next over with a lethal indipping yorker that hit the batsman on his toes.

Although Waters did not go for the review, he was perhaps little unlucky as TV replays later showed the ball was missing leg-stump.

Then came in the Obuya brothers, who displayed tremendous grit and determination to steady the rocking Kenyan ship. They showed exemplary patience to rescue Kenya with a 92-run partnership that came off 177 balls.

It took another lethal yorker from Malinga to separate the brothers when he cleaned up Collins but not before the right-hander notched up his maiden World Cup half-century that came off 100 balls and was studded with four boundaries.

Veteran Steve Tikolo (7) once again disappointed with the bat as Tillakaratene Dilshan pulled off a blinder at point off Angelo Mathews.

Just like his brother Collins, David too threw away his wicket after doing all the hard work and at a time when Kenya needed him the most. He was caught by Thilan Samaraweera off Muttiah Muralitharan.

Captain Jimmy Kamande did very little to his inspire his team as he was brilliantly run out by a diving Chamara Silva in the next over. And then in the last ball Malinga came up with yet another toe-wrecking yorker to end Tanmay Mishra's struggle at the crease.

Malinga then castled through the defence of Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche in the first two deliveries of his next over to register the second hat-trick of this tournament.

He then cleaned up the Kenyan tail with another perfect yorker which was too hot for last man Elijah Otieno.

Preview: Sri Lanka vs Kenya, Match 14

Before the start of the World Cup, 2 teams from the subcontinent were termed hot favourites to lift the trophy - one was India, and the other Sri Lanka. Their opening games against Bangladesh and Canada respectively showed why. But a week later, rude wake up calls from England and Pakistan exposed weaknesses in their sides and proved that this is the most open World Cup played so far, with many teams having a chance to grab the coveted title. Both teams have a chance to get back on track as they take on relatively easier opponents in their next games. While India takes on Ireland later in the week, Sri Lanka plays Kenya in Colombo on March 1st. 

Team news 

Sri Lanka: The Lankans started their World Cup campaign in style by crushing Canada by a mammoth 210 runs in their opening game. The batting and bowling came together as they walloped the hapless minnows with an all round display. But their performance against an unpredictable Pakistani side would have brought them back to the ground. The bowling line up, without Lasith Malinga looked harmless on a flat batting pitch. The pacers lacked penetration and though the spinners - Muralitharan and Herath were economical - they were unable to pick up wickets in the middle overs. The Sri Lankan top order looks extremely strong, with Dilshan, Jayawardene and Sangakkara among the runs in the 2 games. But their long middle order will be a cause of concern. There was ample proof for this in the Pakistan game as the batsmen struggled to score runs once Jayawardene and Sangakkara departed. Arjuna Ranatunga wanted Sangakkara or Jayawardene to bat lower in the line up to strengthen their middle order. It would be interesting to see if the team management considers it. 

Kenya: It is a time when the minnows are doing their best to impress the ICC in the World Cups. Netherlands gave England a scare, and Ireland almost upset Bangladesh at home. But Kenya on the other hand are doing everything they can to justify the ICC's decision to restrict the number of teams in future World Cups. Nothing is going right for the African team. They started their campaign by getting whacked by the Kiwis in Chennai, losing the game in around 3 hours. They soon followed it up by another shoddy performance against Pakistan, and ended up losing the game by 205 runs. Their bowlers conceded 37 wides against Pakistan, while the batsmen have struggled to measure up to both pace and spin. To make things worse, there are off field controversies with differences between the coach and senior players. Kenya would be desperately hoping for a miracle to put up a decent performance against Sri Lanka at home. 

Head to Head: 

Not many in the Sri Lankan team would forget what happened in the 2003 World Cup game in Nairobi. Put in to bat, the Kenyans made a decent 210 and returned with the ball to dismiss Sri Lanka for 157, thus shocking the Lankans by 53 runs. Collins Obuya was the star for Kenya that day, picking up 5 wickets for just 24 runs in his 10 overs. Obuya is still there 8 years later, but a repeat of the 2003 game seems far from possible. Apart from this encounter, the 2 teams have met 4 other times, with the Lankans winning all of them. 

Quotes: 

"I don't mind losing to teams like New Zealand and Pakistan because they are obviously better than us but we should be competitive. We need to be seen to be fighting and scoring runs" - Cricket Kenya chief Samir Inamdar. 

"We know all about the embarrassment of losing to Kenya after that debacle in Nairobi back in 2003 and they have some useful players in their ranks" Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardena.

Source:-http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/37337/preview:-sri-lanka-vs-kenya-match-14/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+CricbuzzFeed+(Cricbuzz:+Cricket+Scores+and+News)

Pakistan vs Kenya: Chasing 318, Kenya lose six wickets against Pakistan

Pakistan opened their World Cup campaign with a thumping 205 run win over an unimpressive Kenya in a group A match at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota on Wednesday.

For Kenya it is their second consecutive defeat in the mega-event after being demolished by New Zealand by 10 wickets in their tournament-opener on Sunday. Score

Pakistan will next play Sri Lanka in Colombo on Saturday.

Against Kenya, Pakistan produced an all-round display as after piling up a mammoth 317 for seven on the board, they dismissed the minnows for a paltry 112 in 33.1 overs.

Even though he failed with the bat, skipper Shahid Afridi (5/16) led from the front while defending the target and returned with a five-wicket haul to notch up the comprehensive victory for the former champions.

For Kenya only four batsmen reached double figures with Collins Obuya top-scoring with a gutsy 47 off 58 balls.

Apart from Afridi, pacer Umar Gul picked up two Kenyan wickets giving away just 12 runs.

Earlier, Pakistan's middle-order came up with a splendid batting display to steer the team to a massive 317 for seven after opting to bat.'

Shrugging off a poor start, Kamran Akmal (55), Younis Khan (50), Misbah-ul-Haq (65) and Umar Akmal (71) chipped in with valuable half-centuries each to post a challenging total.

While it was the experienced duo of Younis and Kamran, who helped the team recover from an early stutter, Misbah and Umar capitalised on it to pile up huge runs.

From 12 for two in 6.5 overs, Younis-Kamran lifted Pakistan to 110 for three, sharing a crucial 98-run third-wicket stand before quickfire knocks from Misbah and Umar turned the tide completely in Pakistan's favour.

Misbah scored 65 off 69 balls with the help of one four and two sixes, while Umar hit 71 off 52 balls, including eight fours and a six as they put up 118 runs for fifth wicket.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/130694/sports/pak-vs-kenya-match-report.html

ICC World Cup 2011: New Zealand beat Kenya by 10 wickets

Pacer Hamish Bennett picked up a career-best four-wicket haul as New Zealand trounced Kenya by 10 wickets in a totally lop-sided World Cup Group A encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. 

Electing to bat first, the Kenyans were sent packing for their lowest World Cup total of 69 in just 23.5 overs before the Kiwis overhauled the paltry target in eight overs.

With just 31.5 overs played, New Zealand recorded the second fastest World Cup victory. In fact, it was a match which lasted less than a third of what a full cricket one-dayer would be.

Kiwi opener Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum scored quick-fire knocks of 39 and 26 respectively to take their team home within three hours.

Earlier, Bennett, who will turn 24 on Tuesday, was the wrecker-in-chief for New Zealand, who came into the mega-event rather low on confidence after losing successive ODI series to Bangladesh and India a few months ago.

His four wickets were instrumental in reducing the Kenyans to their lowest score after the 104 against the West Indies in the 2003 World Cup. This was also the fifth lowest by any team in the World Cup history.

Playing only his ninth ODI for New Zealand after taking 11 wickets from six matches against Pakistan at home recently, Bennett ripped through the clueless Kenyan batting line-up by claiming four wickets in the space of 10 balls as his dream first spell read 5-0-16-4.

Bennett's earlier best came a fortnight ago against Pakistan in Auckland when he took 4 for 46.

Bennett's pace partners, Tim Southee (3/13) and Jacob Oram (3/2) shared the other six Kenyan wickets.

For Kenya, only three batsmen - opener Seren Waters (16), Collins Obuya (14) and Indian-origin Rakep Patel (16 not out) - got into double figures.

Such was the capitulation that the last three Kenyan players - Nejhemiah Odhiam, Shem Ngoche and Elijah Otieno - departed without even disturbing the scorecard.

The Kenyans, opting to bat first on a grass-less wicket, were totally exposed and they lacked technical prowess mostly going across to get rapped on their pads.

Their top five batsmen were adjudged leg before including Maurice Ouma, who went in for a referral, which only confirmed the umpire's original decision.

As the match started, the openers, Alex Obanda and Waters were seen to be well up to their task taking time to analyse the conditions and plodded to get their eyes in while stealing some quick singles.

New Zealand Captain Daniel Vettori decided to open the attack with both pace and spin in operation, bringing in Nathan McCullum from the far end.

But it was Southee, who provided the first breakthrough by dismissing Obanda leg before.

Obanda, who misread the angle of a good length delivery, made 6.

Thereafter, it was Bennett who ruled the roost dismissing Waters, the experienced Steve Tikolo (2), who is playing his fifth world cup, Obuya and Maurice Ouma (1).

With the top five batsmen wilting under pressure, the remaining five batsmen added just 20 runs and Oram polished off the tail in quick time.

The chase was never meant to cause much hassle for the Kiwi batsmen and Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill went after the Kenyan bowling attack from the very start.

While Guptill's 39 runs came off 32 balls, including five fours and a couple of sixes, McCullum took 17 balls to knock off his 26 runs, 16 of which came in boundaries.

Nehemiah Odhiambo ended up being the costliest of the Kenyan bowlers, conceding 21 runs in his two overs, while Thomas Odoyo was no better, giving away 25 runs in his three overs.

Source:-http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/130401/world-cup-cricket-2011/icc-world-cup-2011-kenya-vs-new-zealand-live.html

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