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Rediff.com  » Sports » Lara hopes to keep the momentum

Lara hopes to keep the momentum

Source: PTI
October 11, 2006 23:44 IST
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West Indies captain Brian Lara said his team will go all out for victory when they take on Sri Lanka in the final qualifying game of the Champions Trophy.

The Windies ensured their passage to the tournament proper after a comprehensive 10-wicket win against Bangladesh on Wednesday, but Lara said there is "no room for experiment".

"It is an important game (against Sri Lanka). The win is important because we would like to finish as the number one team," said Lara.

- Scorecard | Images

"We want to continue the momentum. No team likes to go to the next stage of a tournament with a loss, and three in a row would be nice.

"We want to field the best eleven; there is no room for experimentation... Hopefully we can come back here for the semi-finals."

Lara was concerned more about the fitness than the form of his players, four of whom are laid down by a viral fever so far.

"It definitely is a concern. It started with (Ramnaresh) Sarwan and then Runako Morton and Dwayne Smith, and now Fidel Edwards. There has not been a day when someone in the team was not ill," he said.

"To field the best team you need 14 players and we have not had that. It is a bit worrying. We cannot quarantine them because we are continuously travelling.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed. We have got to deal with it. On a tour, guys are going to get injured or get sick."

Riding on an unbeaten 104 by Chris Gayle, the West Indies overhauled the meagre Bangladesh target of 162 with more than 13 overs to spare and all wickets in tact.

Man of the match Gayle said it was not an easy knock.

"I had to keep my composure because it was not easy out there. They bowled well, in the right areas. Even the spinners bowled well," said the Jamaican left-hander.

Gayle, who hammered 11 fours and three sixes, said he paced his innings in such a way that his opening partner Shivnarine Chanderpaul could get his half-century.

"He (Chanderpaul) came to me and said 'Chris, I want to get my 50 as well'. The communication was good and the planning went well," said the batsman, who got his 13th one-day hundred today.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said "it was a bad game" and believed it was a one-off day.

"It was a mix of bad batting and good bowling. We played bad shots that cost us wickets in the middle. It was not acceptable, particularly after being 95-1 at one stage," Bashar said.

He said the team wanted Aftab Ahmed, who played an enterprising knock of 59, to play his natural game.

"That is his natural game. It is a bit unfortunate that he consistently gets good starts but doesn't go on to make it a hundred," he said.

Bashar also defended the use of spinners who proved to be cannon fodder for Gayle on a featherbed of a track at the Sawai Mansingh stadium.

"The wicket did not help the fast bowlers and I had to bring the spinners on. It was a small total as well," he said.

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