Vadodara, Jan 31: Sachin Tendulkar today earned lavish praise from captain Rahul Dravid who said his unbeaten 100 in the fourth cricket one-dayer against the West Indies should stop people from worrying about his form.
"I had said that we were not unduly worried about Sachin Tendulkar's batting and after today everyone else can stop worrying about it.
It was a great innings and one of the best I have seen from Sachin," said the India captain after India recorded an emphatic 160-run victory to clinch the series 3-1.
"He showed why he's such a great player and can adapt to any situation. Not many in the world will be able to do so." Tendulkar's match-winning hundred, his 41st overall and first in 13 games, came in 76 balls with 10 fours and a six. Dravid also saluted his teammates for the way they rose to the occasion in a must-win situation to clinch the four-match series and felt this was a very good sign for the squad ahead of tougher battles ahead in the World Cup in the West Indies.
"It was good to end the series on a winning note. It was a must-win situation and we were under a lot of pressure and I am happy with the way we responded to the challenge. "That's good for us when we face such situations in the World Cup. It's a tribute to the guys," he said. Dravid said that he and Tendulkar did not repeat the mistake they made at Chennai, getting out in close succession after consolidating the innings. "We played well right through the series against a good team like the West Indies who are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the World Cup with the number of all-rounders they have", he said.
Dravid said that one of the goals of the team in this series and the next one against Sri Lanka was to work hard on the fielding and today the fielding was very good. "Today we fielded very well. One of the goals is to work hard on our fielding in the lead-up to the World Cup. We need to keep working on it." He singled out Yuvraj Singh's spectacular catch to dismiss Devon Smith for special praise. "Yuvraj did not get a chance to bat. He feels fit and comfortable. We wanted to see him perform in match conditions and the catch he took under pressure was exceptional. He is working on his bowling too," Dravid said.
The Indian captain did not feel that Irfan Pathan performed below par and described the left arm bowler's return to top-level cricket as a good comeback. "Irfan bowled well when he pitched it up. He needs to get some more bowling under his belt," he said. Dravid said he should recover after a few days' rest from the bout of cramps in the calf and hamstring regions that kept him off the field during the West Indian innings. "We have had a hectic week. I had a bout of cramps but it's nothing serious. The few days' off will do me good." At one stage in the match, both Dravid and Tendulkar, the vice-captain, were off the field and their absence gave former skipper Sourav Ganguly the chance to take over the reins for a brief while.
Vadodara, Jan 31: Sachin Tendulkar today earned lavish praise from captain Rahul Dravid who said his unbeaten 100 in the fourth cricket one-dayer against the West Indies should stop people from worrying about his form. 
