India set a massive 340-run target but had to toil hard to defend it before managing a 20-run win at Sabina Park. “Most of the guys thought that we have won the game when they were seven-wicket down but it was a mistake and hopefully we won’t repeat that. It was more close than we thought,” he said.

Speaking about Yuvraj Singh, who played a magnificent knock of 131, he said, “He has matured as a batsman in the last couple of years. We rely a lot on him. He gets big runs for us in the middle order.”

Dhoni said handing Ashish Nehra the ball in the closing stage was a gamble which paid off. “It was a gamble. We were thinking of giving that over to an off-spinner or a pacer. Finally we chose a pacer as the ball was getting reverse swing,” he said.

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle was not unhappy with his team even after the defeat and praised the youngsters. “It was a good effort. We batted well. Darren, who was making his debut, was also impressive. Shiv played a top innings at the top,” he said. Gayle confessed his batsmen failed to capitalise on the good start. “We came close and the effort can't be faulted for the way we went about it. I think that we had a good start (to the innings) and a couple of the top-order batsmen got good starts, which we should have capitalised on,” he said.

Gayle also praised Indian batsmen, particularly Yuvraj. “He set up his innings well. Having said that it was a good game. It was a flat track and small boundaries were there. It was tough to contain batsmen like Yuvraj and Dhoni.”

Man-of-the-Match Yuvraj said he exercised restraint before exploding. “I was getting used to the pace initially. After getting 25-30 runs I was comfortable. I got the momentum and played my shots. The partnership with Dinesh and Dhoni got us to the big total,” he said.

Series under flu surveillance

Meanwhile, the series has been put under “special swine flu surveillance” in view of the H1N1 virus spread here in Jamaica.

Responding to calls for the banning of public events, Jamaican health minister Ruddy Spencer has ordered for special measures to prevent the spread of H1N1 virus at events where the public gathers in large numbers, including the four-match ODI series. Teams comprising more than 40 individuals will be assigned for the surveillance works during each match of the ODI series.

“So cricketers, those of you who like cricket go to cricket. But if you have flu-like symptoms you should stay home and if you go there and there are people there with flu like symptoms you should stay away from those people,” Spencer said.

Such surveillance has also been ordered for the National Athletics Championships. “There are National Track trials on Saturday, we will be there. Over four dozen health workers will be there to ensure that the country is protected,” Spencer had said. There have so far been 21 cases of H1N1 in Jamaica.

WI fined for slow over rate

Dubai: The West Indies team have been fined for a slow over-rate during their 20-run defeat against India in the first ODI of the four-match series at Kingston on Friday. Match referee Chris Broad imposed the fines after Chris Gayle’s side were ruled to be two overs short of the target at the end of India’s innings with time allowances taken into consideration, an ICC statement said. Gayle was fined 20 per cent of his match fee while his players received 10 per cent fines.

2nd ODI Live on Ten Sports, 8 pm