PORT OF SPAIN, APR 24 (PTI)
Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar who turned 29 today said India's win in the second Test here at Queen's parkoval yesterday was a welcome birthday gift.
"It's a great feeling," said Tendulkar, who scored his 29th hundred in the first innings to equalSir Donald Bradman's. "We would now be able to celebrate the birthday well." Skipper Sourav Gangulywho kneeled and kissed the turf on recording the famous win praised man-of-the-match V V S Laxman. "Helooked in good nick but he hasn't converted his half centuries into a big hundred, the kind of hundred whichwould do justice to his talent." Both Ganguly and coach John Wright was full praise for Tendulkar's 117.
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"Any team which is put in to bat and finishes with 262 for four on the first day has done a goodjob," said Wright. "Tendulkar's hundred gave us a good push early on in this game." Theimportance of that innings was not lost on the century-maker either. "I am sure if you deduct hundredruns, the balance of the two teams shift a great deal. But more than that, all the players have contributedand that is what counts," said Tendulkar.
"I think we are playing well as a team at the moment. Nobody has got a five-wicket haul and nobody hasa big hundred from this game. Still we won. That's what winning is all about for a team," said Tendulkar.
Ganguly and Wright also congratulated the medium pace trio of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra"Srinath made an impact on the second day and he did it again on the final day by getting Mervyn Dillonand pressurising Junior Murray enough to get the run out. He is pretty experienced and knows where to put theball," said Wright.
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"We always had a chance after setting them a 300-plus target. We knew if we could pick up Hooper andLara, we would win the Test," said Ganguly with Wright in tow.
"They needed 40 runs to win with only one wicket standing. It was too much to expect from Cuffy (topull it through)," he said.
The skipper was also satisfied with the rare overseas win and counting the number of victories abroad.
"It is good to win a Test abroad. It is the fourth Test we have won on foreign soil in recent times.It is pretty satisfying." India defeated Bangladesh in May 2000 and defeated Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka lastyear. Ganguly has so far won 10 of the 20 Tests he has captained, losing just five.
Ganguly said he was a bit worried when Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle brought West Indies realclose with a 73-run fifth wicket stand.
"We were a bit worried, I must confess. But once we picked up Gayle, we were again in business.
Reviewing the closely fought match, both the captain and coach emphasised the need for India's lower order tocome good in the remaining three Tests.
"There is little denying we need more runs out of the tail. We lost 12 wickets here for 70 or 80 runs.We need to work in this area," said Wright.
"Ratra has done well behind the stumps but he needs to score runs too. I mean if numbers 7, 8, 9 and10 don't contribute, that's a lot. A lot of our batting is doing nothing so we expect him to score a few runsas well," said Ganguly.
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"Das looked good in Guyana before he threw it away. They (openers) have got to realise they have toplay out the new ball every time and that's not easy. Once they go through the new ball, they would scoreruns. They have done it before and they must do it again," the skipper said.
West Indies captain Carl Hooper, who has been through many a season of highs and lows in his long career,said he found it difficult to get over the fact the visiting Indians were able to beat his team by 37 runs.
"I am very disappointed. We fell only 30-odd runs short and it is not much," said Hooper afterhis team had failed to capitalise on a winning situation and folded up for 275, chasing 313, an hour into thelast session.
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He said "the Indians were prepared to make things difficult for us in run-making and that's exactlywhat they did. We needed to make the most of bad balls but after Brian and I got out, the pressure was righton our lower batsmen".
