Sehwag's dismissal was turning point, feels Lara

St. Kitts, May 24 (UNI) After leading the side to a back-to-back win against India, West Indies captain Brian Lara felt it was Virender Sehwag's dismissal, just four runs short of a well-deserved ton, which changed the course of the match.

''As soon as Sehwag got out, we knew we had chance because it was not easy to continue scoring six an over from there. There wasn't much experience after that,'' he told reporters after the match.

''Yuvraj Singh, their major player was also not playing. We knew we had a chance and we grabbed it, '' he added.

Despite losing captain Rahul Dravid early in the innings, Sehwag, himself under pressure because of a prolonged bad patch, set the West Indies bowlers on a leatherhunt and played an 83-ball blitzkrieg knock of 96 before a Dwayne Bravo yorker caught him plumb in front.

Lara was elated after taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series after trailing 0-1.

Describing it as a ''happy occasion'' as the teams move to his hometown, Lara said, ''We are quite happy to be 2-1 up. We set a target and defended it and now we have successfully chased too. It is satisfactory. I would like to end on winning note in Trinidad.

Probably those two one-dayers might be my last at hometown.'' He was also happy that the team was not depending only on him to score the runs and lauded Man of the Match Ramnaresh Sarwan for emerging as the batting mainstay of the team.

Lara said Sarwan has matured as a batsman and is the most consistent batsman in the side.

''I love that the team's batting is not dependent on me alone.

It is good to see other players coming strong. Guys have moved from the Brian Lara scenario. Sarwan is emerging as the main batsman in the team,'' added Lara.

His Indian counterpart Rahul Dravid, on the other hand, felt it was a close game and though India lost, it was a good learning experience for the youngsters.

''Some of these close games are good for the boys. It is good to win under pressure. But it is also good to feel the pressure. I am sure we have learnt a lot from this match,'' said Dravid.

He also defended the decision to bat first in the match.

''Looking at the wicket, I thought it would assist batting initially and as the game progresses would offer turn. We probably couldn't make the most of our chances,'' rued Dravid.

He also informed that Yuvraj Singh, who missed the match due to back spasm, should be fine in a couple of days.

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