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Psychological edge with Windies, says Sarwan

September 23, 2004 16:01 IST

West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan believes his side has a psychological advantage over England going into the final of the ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament at the Oval on Saturday.

"We did well against England in the NatWest series earlier this season and I would like to think we hold the psychological advantage," Sarwan said.

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The West Indies took full advantage of Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq's decision to bat first on a seamer-friendly wicket and bowled out their opponents for a meagre 131 before successfully chasing the total with seven wickets in hand and more than 20 overs to spare on Wednesday.

Sarwan, whose unbeaten half century was a key factor in his team's victory, said the triumph over Pakistan was also very important for team morale as they have not won any major titles in recent years.

"One thing we have not done in recent times is pull all three aspects together. Sometimes we bowled well, sometimes we batted well, sometimes we fielded well, but everything came together [against Pakistan]," he said.

Sarwan also singled out Dwayne Bravo as the bowler who inflicted the maximum damage on the Pakistan innings.

"He started off badly but then to come back with two wickets and also effected two run-outs which was an outstanding effort."

Inzamam was all praise for the way the West Indies cruised to victory but felt the hosts have the upper hand for the summit clash.

"Both the teams are playing well at the moment and deserve their chance. But I think it is in England's favour."

Inzamam-ul Haq gave credit to the West Indies for the way they bowled.

"They were very good. We also lost Yaseer Hameed and Abdul Razzaq by way of run-outs and it hurt the team a great deal."

The Pakistan skipper pointed out that his team has shown tremendous improvement after the debacle against India at home in April but felt that they are not finishing off matches well.

"We have made improvement as a team but we are not finishing well. This is the thing I have noticed from Sri Lanka, Amsterdam and now in England," he said.



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