Another chase, Dravid puts things in perspective

I know we are at bottom, we still have a very good game, we took the match to the last two balls: Lara8217;s solace

As the sun dipped over Kingston, hours after an ecstatic Mohammed Kaif ran into the arms of his teammates at the Sabina Park, Shivnarine Chanderpaul stepped out into the lobby of Hotel Pegasus, his face dark, brooding.

He mumbled a greeting, shrugged wryly and turned away. The West Indies captain till last month, he knew that he had let that one, big moment go by.

Barely two overs away from India8217;s 17th straight chase thriller, Chanderpaul had hesitated for a few crucial seconds before running for that catch off Kaif8217;s mishit. Time enough for the ball to fall between skipper Lara and Chanderpaul at long-off.

At 238 for five, 23 runs left in the game, Dhoni gone and the Indian tail waiting to be exposed, that chance probably was the last turn of the key in the match. A couple of streaky fours from Suresh Raina and an emphatic cover drive from Kaif later, India were home, the first of the five-match series in their kit bag, thanks to a brilliant hundred from skipper Rahul Dravid, with five wickets to spare.

For Chanderpaul, Lara and the West Indies, it was back to familiar ground after a 5-0 ODI win over Zimbabwe 8212; face-to-face once again with all those uncomfortable questions. 8220;I think people are not really paying us the respect. Yes, I know we are at the bottom end of the big nations in cricket, but we still have a very good game8230; We took the match to the last two balls,8221; said a defiant Lara later.

It was familiar territory for Rahul Dravid8217;s India, too. The early dip, intense pressure, the final countdown and yes, another magnificent victory.

8220;It was a good chase. I think the bowlers did a good job to get us back into the game and give us a target that was gettable. It was a bit tight in the end, but I think it was a good effort under the conditions. And Rahul obviously played very well,8221; said coach Greg Chappell later, sweat streaming down his face.

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8220;The strike rate of 100 was awesome from someone who they said a few years ago couldn8217;t play one-day cricket. I think he8217;s enjoying the role at the top of the order. Unless we had a top innings like that, we wouldn8217;t have won the game,8221; said Chappell about the skipper8217;s 102-ball 105.

Yes, it was Dravid8217;s day. Solid as always, he steered the batting through an early slump 8212; 86 for three in the 18th over 8212; stepped on till the home stretch and even hit a couple of sixes. But the bigger story really was Kaif8217;s comeback With Chris Gayle having got a hundred, it finally boiled down to that crucial supporting role. West Indies had no one to follow up, India had Kaif. Even if he was not at his fluent best. Dogged by a series of ducks, even dropped for the Abu Dhabi series, Kaif8217;s 66 91 balls also put him firmly back on the World Cup radar.

8220;We knew he would come back,8221; said Chappell. Looking forward to the World Cup, we see him as an important player in the side. He played an important innings out there. The partnership between he and Dravid was an important one, we needed that,8221; the coach added.

For the Saturday game then, India will look for 8220;more disciplined bowling8221; after the pounding that Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel took, now that Sreesanth is back in the reckoning after an ankle injury. And the West Indies, meanwhile, will look to improve on a 8220;whole lot of areas8221; 8212; getting more runs in the crunch they scored just 29 in the last five overs and of course, their catching.

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