Absence of Tendulkar was the key: Lara

Windies captain rated his team as a better one-day outfit than India but admitted that Sachin's presence would have made a big difference.

West Indian captain Brian Lara rated his team as a better one-day outfit than India but admitted that Sachin Tendulkar's presence would have made a big difference.

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"I think the West Indies team is a better one-day team than this Indian side. But the absence of Sachin Tendulkar was the key," Lara said basking in glory after his side triumphed for the fourth straight time over India at the Queen's Park Oval on Sunday.

"Sachin Tendulkar is a major factor in Indian cricket, take it or leave it. He can make a big difference in any series. Just look at the ICC Super Series; we lost all the one-day matches as well as Tests because he was not there," he asserted.

"When you miss someone who has played over 300 one-day internationals, the best batsman in the world, a vital spoke in the wheel, it is tough."

"But we are happy that we've won and India has got to go back to the drawing board and rearrange things," he added.

Lara said it felt great that his side had put it across a team, which is better than New Zealand and Zimbabwe, two sides it has beaten in recent past.

"We've got bigger fish to fry and we did well. Greg Chappell statement gave us a big fillip. I spoke to the boys after the game in Jamaica and said how can we lose a game by one ball and not win the next one," he said.

"It worked. We improved game-by-game, evident from the transformation of guys like Fidel Edwards, who bowled excellently on Friday.