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West Indies v Sri Lanka, 1st ODI, Trinidad
'I was looking for anything' - Chanderpaul
Cricinfo staff
April 11, 2008
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"I was looking for a slower ball, a wide ball, I was looking for whatever Vaas had up his sleeve. I didn't have to do all that"
© AFP
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Shivnarine Chanderpaul credits a little bit of divine intervention and some brute force for his last-ball six which won West Indies the first ODI at Queen's Park Oval.
"I'm happy, I'm very, very happy. I prayed and prayed and asked God to give me the strength to hit that ball out of the ground," he said after the nail-biter. "The plan was to fire as hard as I could."
West Indies, chasing 236, needed ten from the last two deliveries of the game. Chaminda Vaas had done extremely well for the first four balls of the 50th over but Chanderpaul drilled the fifth for a straight four and walked down the track to loft the last over midwicket.
"I watched the ball until it went over, then I was able to jump up," said Chanderpaul, who was recently named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. "When it dropped over the rope then I was happy to celebrate. I was looking for anything. I was looking for a slower ball, a wide ball, I was looking for whatever Vaas had up his sleeve. I didn't have to do all that. He sent down a full toss and I just had to fire and fire hard.
"The second last ball I knew I just had to hit. I was looking to get under it but I then had to hit it straight and hard. I timed that one very well."
Chanderpaul's unbeaten 86 helped West Indies level the two-match Test series with a six-wicket win at the same venue earlier this week. He went into the first ODI with a bit of flu but was thrilled to have sealed another win.
"I am still suffering a bit, but I knew with God's help it could happen for us today. I have not recovered from the flu properly," he said. "I was shaking out there all day and I was feeling weak. When I went to bat I was trembling and I was still struggling, but it worked out for me."
The second ODI is also at Port of Spain on April 12.
© Cricinfo
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