 Dravid happy with bowlers' performance
 St. John's (Antigua), June 7: Indian skipper Rahul Dravid says the performance of his largely inexperienced bowling line-up on the final day was the biggest positive that his team could draw from the first Test which they came agonisingly close to winning. "If you look at the result you might feel disappointed, but for me it is important that we play good cricket and that we did on the day,"
Dravid said after the match. "Today's performance has given me a lot of heart. All of them were very keen to bowl. They wanted to bowl under the pressure. People were turning their arms over (in the final stages) and looking at me (in order to bowl)."
However, Dravid pleaded fans not to put too much pressure on the young seamers yet and expect them to be tearaway fast bowlers. "India shouldn't start building up hype about the young fast bowling talents," he said. "In India, we sometimes get carried away when we see a fast bowler. We suddenly start calling them fast and quick. We have to realise they are not going to be 150-plus bowlers. "We can't bowl short and get people out. We must not get carried away by some of the hype which is built around our fast bowlers," the Karnataka batsman said.
Dravid also showered praise on man-of-the-match Wasim Jaffer, who put India in a commanding position with his double century in the second innings. "It was a great innings. Some of the shots he played on that track wasn't easy. The thing I liked about him was that he continued, he carried on with his concentration, he said. "Earlier, he was loose and tended to throw his wicket. He is very determined this time around and has all the attributes to be successful at this stage."
Dravid defended his bowling changes and the second new ball he took as soon as it was due at the start of the final 15 overs. "The ball was getting soft and I wanted to take the new ball. I would have brought on Kumble after three or four overs in any case. "I persisted with Sreesanth because he was bowling in right areas at that stage," the Indian captain said about his decision to have Sreesanth bowl the last over. Dravid's counterpart Brian Lara said his side did not deserve to lose as India, well as they fought, should not have picked 20 wickets in the match.
He also acknowledged the role opener Daren Ganga, sent as a runner for the injured Fidel Edwards, played in saving the Test match in the final few overs with the last pair at the crease. "We sent Daren Ganga as runner because he has been a captain of Trinidad and Tobago and knows how to react in such situations. He was able to marshall it well though he admitted doing it as runner wasn't easy," the West Indies skipper said.
"We have confidence in Edwards' defensive technique. Both he and Collymore can play out deliveries," Lara said. (Agencies)
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