Kingston: The ethereal calm with which India chases down targets these days blows the mind. Far from the scatty, helter-skelter pursuits in the 1990s that almost always ended in tragedy, India has strung together a world-record number of successful chases over the last nine months.

For a moment at Sabina Park on a sweltering Thursday — the briefest of moments — it looked like tears not cheers were in order for Team India.

But, Mohammad Kaif (66 not out, 91b, 3x4) shrugged off his recent limited-overs problems to take India past West Indies's 251 with a ball to spare. India thus took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, stretching its record of chases to 17.

The victory in the 45 overs-a-side match was set up by captain Rahul Dravid, who constructed a perfectly weighted innings, reaching his 12th ODI century in the process.

Complete control

Dravid's 102-ball 105 (10x4, 2x6) trumped home-boy Chris Gayle's 123. The Indian skipper appeared in total control for much of his innings — whether riding the bounce to dab the ball to third man, or bending the knee and leaning into a fuller ball to send it to the same area. He put on 56 for the first wicket with Virender Sehwag, who was run out in a moment of madness.

Irfan Pathan didn't last long, and when Marlon Samuels realigned his hips while running backwards and sideways at the same time, dove, and held on to a Yuvraj Singh skier, India needed 166 off 164 balls. It needed a partnership.

The humidity didn't allow Dravid and Kaif to run as hard as they normally would. Dravid, who loses body fluids faster than most, chose to hit boundaries at will to overcome this problem.

For West Indies, left-armer Ian Bradshaw tightened the screws in his first spell, forcing the batsmen to look elsewhere for sustenance. Jerome Taylor delivered a maiden in the crunch — the 42nd over.

"I think we handled the pressure quite well," said Lara. "Taylor's effort was exceptional."

When Dravid holed out in the deep, India still wasn't through. Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a couple of crucial blows, Raina chopped one to third man, Kaif dashed like a crazed hare, and India needed four off the last over. Two dot balls reduced it to run-a-ball. But Kaif found a hole in the covers and India was home.

Earlier, India did well to pull West Indies back. Gayle got off the blocks like fellow Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell and threatened to take his side to 300. He shared in partnerships of 82 with fellow opener Morton and 87 with skipper Lara. Consequently, West Indies was at 176 for two in 31.1 overs at one stage.

However, Harbhajan, displaying impeccable control of line and length, Agarkar, with canny variation of length and pace, and Munaf, with good pace and greater heart, took crucial wickets and exerted a measure of control.

PTI adds

Dravid now has three centuries against the West Indies in one-dayers — the most among the Indian batsmen.

Sachin Tendulkar and K. Srikkanth have scored two centuries each against the Caribbeans.

The Indian captain also completed 1,000 runs against the West Indies. Dravid, who now has 1,014 runs from 28 matches at an average of 48.28, became the second Indian to do so after Tendulkar (1145 runs at an average of 47.71 in 31 matches).

The Bangalorean also became the first Indian batsman to register a hundred against West Indies in West Indies. Sunil Gavaskar's 90 off 117 balls at Berbice, Guyana, in 1983 was the previous highest individual innings by an Indian in West Indies.

Dravid's 105 was his first away century as captain and also the highest individual score by an overseas player at Kingston. Graeme Smith's 103 for South Africa versus West Indies last year was the only overseas centurion at this venue before Dravid.

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