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West Indies v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, Trinidad
Room for improvement - Bravo
Cricinfo staff
April 10, 2008
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Dwayne Bravo took 4 for 32 but immediately called for improvement from his side
© Brooks La Touche
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Dwayne Bravo, West Indies' Man of the Match in the opening ODI, said that the exciting manner of the win should not be allowed to mask the side's errors. Bravo, who took a career-best 4 for 32 and made 36 before Shivnarine Chanderpaul struck ten runs from the last two balls, called for improvement from his side.
"We have to go back to the drawing board, have a good practice session and look to seal the series on Saturday," said Bravo after the match. "We're happy with the win but there is a lot to improve on. We would have been happier if we could have sealed the victory if we could have won the game with more wickets in hand."
Bravo said that the team had faith in Chanderpaul's experience even when it came down to the last two balls. "We knew that once he got most of the strike we were in with a chance. We knew it would have been difficult with two balls to get ten runs and with a bowler as experienced as Chaminda Vaas you would back the bowling team but Shiv has done it already on different occasions and it goes to show his experience."
West Indies have been criticised for a seeming inability to finish off teams after dismissing the top order, but Bravo said the Sri Lankans deserved credit for their recovery on a seamer-friendly pitch. "All the seamers were able to get the top order batsmen out pretty cheap and that set up the game for us. [But Sri Lanka] are not a team that's going to just lie down and let us bowl them out."
He said his side's bowlers know the errors they made and will correct them in time for the second ODI, also at the Queen's Park Oval. "If the situation occurs again," he said, "we know how to go about it and try to better our performance in the outfield."
For all the improvements West Indies need, Bravo sounded a confident note in conclusion. "It was a nail-biting win but a win is a win and come Saturday we know we will be one-nil up and once we win Saturday again the series is over."
© Cricinfo
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