Lara still not 100 per cent sure for India match

Ahmedabad, Oct 25 (UNI) Despite sweating it out with rest of the team members in the practice session, West Indies captain Brian Lara today admitted that he has not completely recovered from back spasm and is a doubtful starter for the crucial match against India tomorrow.

''I am feeling much better than the last six days, but I am not yet 100 per cent sure for tomorrow's crucial match against India, '' said Lara who suffered from back spasms while batting against Australia last week.

''The final decision will be taken tomorrow and of course, I would love to make it out there,'' the West Indian captain added.

Lara further said that he was not feeling completely comfortable during the work-out and knock he had the earlier day and would not run the risk of playing without being 100 per cent fit.

''The strenuous session I had yesterday was very difficult, things didn't look too good. I will try and bat as much as I can today but it's difficult to go full out,'' he said.

West Indies hasn't had a full squad to choose from, with Corey Collymore flying home before the start of the tournament and Shivnarine Chanderpaul suffering from food poisoning during the Australia game. A stomach bug also kept coach Bennett King out of today's net session.

Commenting on the series of setbacks, Lara said, ''It is a little frustrating. However, rest of the guys have stepped up well. It shows that we have depth in the team. They have filled in the gaps well, but at the end of the day you would still like a full squad of 14 to choose from.'' The good news for the Windies, however, is that Chanderpaul has recovered fully and will be back in action against India.

In case Lara misses out the match tomorrow, Ramnaresh Sarwan will don the mantle of captaincy. The 26-year-old did a superb job against Australia, making some instinctive changes as the West Indies won by 10 runs.

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