Lara admits to India's total domination over his side

Vadodara, Jan 31 (UNI) Crestfallen West Indies skipper Brian Lara today admitted that India enjoyed total domination over them and all the credit should go to the hosts for the way they played in the final ODI here.

Speaking to mediapersons after the match, Lara said we competed well in the first three matches, but today was another day when India did not let us off the hook and we also wilted with our bowling and batting, suffering in the process.

Lara earmarked special praise for Sachin Tendulkar, saying that it was no surprise to him as the Mumbai maestro was capable of producing such great innings time and again. It was a special innings from him,'' the West Indies captain said.

Lara defended his decision to bowl first saying that his bowlers did not bowl well. From the beginning we consistently gave six or seven runs an over and Ganguly, Dhoni and Dravid along with Sachin took full advantage.

Even during the chase, we kept losing wickets which just added to our misery, Lara said.

Lara, for whom this was most likely his last match on Indian soil, said that he will carry back home a lot of sweet memories of the country with him. ''I am taking back the love and affection of the cricket[-loving people of this country,'' he said.

Lara praised the Indian cricketers, saying that they were more than just cricketers but real ambassadors for their country.

Players like Sachin, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble are all not just very good players but play with the right spirit that the game is supposed to be played in, he added.

UNI