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We will comeback: Dravid

Source:PTI
May 24, 2006 10:32 IST

Indian captain Rahul Dravid has exhorted the lower order batsmen to come good and promised the team would be bounce back to win the last two ODIs and take the five-match series against the West Indies.

"We need to get more runs from the lower order but we will comeback. The batsmen are getting used to the slow wickets and will get better," Dravid said after India's four-wicket loss in the third one-dayer on Tuesday.

"We can win the next two matches. The one positive in this series has been that all three matches have been close and we have not played anywhere near our best.

"I am pretty confident that we can do it in the remaining two matches at Trinidad on Friday and Sunday," he said.

Dravid blamed the batsmen for the defeat at Warner Park.

"The last 15 (which produced only 42 runs) cost us really. We played really badly and the three run outs were critical," he said.

Doing the trick for the hosts were the slow bowlers -- Marlon Samuels (1-41), Chris Gayle (0-35) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (1-0-1-1).

Winning captain Brian Lara said it was not "unusual" for the spinners to dominate in the Caribbean.

"The pitches are dry and lack grass, so spinners do well. It is not only for us, Harbhajan Singh (1-33) did for India too," he said.

Lara said the prime task now for his team management to make sure man of the match Ramnarersh Sarwan stays at his best in the remainder of the series.

"He is a great player but we would like to see a bit more consistency in him," the home skipper said.

Sarwan followed up his 98 not out in the second match at Jamaica with an unbeaten 115 to steer the hosts to victory.

"We also have to keep him healthy because the Tests are coming up," Lara said.

"We want take the ODI success further into June (in the four Tests). We are getting our combinations right."

Source: PTI
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