Port of Spain: So, cricket's biggest party boy — save Shane Warne — will have his bash after all. He has officially delayed it till after Sunday's match. Friday, though, seemed convivial enough. West Indies closed out the series 3-1 with a six-wicket win — the most comprehensive of its three victories.

Brian Lara (69, 97b, 8x4, 1x6) imprinted himself on the match: the venue, Queen's Park Oval, is a five-minute ride from his sprawling hill-top villa; he had for company his protégé Dwayne Bravo; for food and drink, he had India's bowlers.

With a total of 217 to defend, India was always behind the eight ball. It needed a rush of early wickets. Two came within the first nine overs: Marlon Samuels stepped too far across his stumps to Pathan, and this generation's happy hooker, Ramnaresh Sarwan, fell to the stroke for the first time in what has been a productive series. But, Chris Gayle and Lara did just enough to put West Indies in front; then Bravo and his mentor made things irreversible.

"We didn't get what was a par score on this wicket," said Indian skipper Rahul Dravid. "Our batsmen have played below potential in these slow conditions. It's the first time for a lot of them.

No excuses

"I'm not trying to make excuses — it's a good learning experience for them. Their seamers up front and then their spinners bowled very well. They hit the right lengths on these conditions and made it difficult for us."

Lara wasn't comfortable early. He'd done little this series, and watched Agarkar — not given the new ball this time — with care. He almost chopped on once — India needed to seize the moment, but failed.

"During the first 50 or 60 balls, anyone can get me out, so I concentrate extra hard," Lara once said. "After I get past that, it becomes very tough to dismiss me."

The visiting side found that out the hard way. It would have fancied its chances between overs 15 and 30 when Agarkar and Harbhajan pulled things back and only 54 runs resulted. But, Lara was biding his time. ABBA's Dancing Queen played on the jukebox — it was both a blast from the past and the sign for Lara to put on dancing shoes himself.

He skedaddled down the track repeatedly to off-spinner Ramesh Powar, hitting him in the arc from point to square leg. Bravo began hesitantly, but in between talks with himself and his skipper, he settled. The pair added 91 to put the issue beyond question.

Bravo (61 not out, 62b, 3x4, 1x6) then opened up. "We all know Brian is my role model and he likes to finish things off in style," said the all-rounder from Trinidad. "Well, he tried it today and failed. So I thought I'd use the opportunity to execute that."

Poor ground fielding

India didn't have a bowler, who could blast a wicket out — the total was too low to try strangulation. It also let itself down with its ground fielding. Throws were often off-balance — Sreesanth and Sehwag could have both effected run-outs had they managed a steady base. Some fielders didn't have the required foot-speed; others didn't take the shortest path to the ball. Whether these are signs of a long season taking its toll is open to conjecture.

It must be particularly gutting for the team management, for Team India has worked extremely hard on exactly these aspects. "I wouldn't say the boys are deflated," said Dravid.

"It's not nice to lose games, lose series. So no one's jumping up and down in the dressing room. But no one is disheartened. It's part of the journey. Sometimes you run along fine, sometimes you trip up. You need to pick yourself up, dust it off, and move forward."

SCOREBOARD

India: V. Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11, R. Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15, S. Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7, Yuvraj c Baugh b Edwards 52, M. Kaif b Bravo 62, M.S. Dhoni (not out) 46, I. Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8, A. Agarkar b Bravo 0, R. Powar (not out) 0. Extras (lb-5, nb-2, w-9) 16. Total (for seven wkts. in 50 overs) 217.

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-28, 3-47, 4-127, 5-188, 6-206, 7-206.

West Indies bowling: Edwards 8-1-19-1, Bradshaw 10-0-41-2, Collymore 9-2-49-1, Bravo 5-0-32-3, Gayle 6-0-28-0, Samuels 10-1-37-0, Smith 2-0-6-0.

Power Play 1 (1-10): 30/2; 2 (11-15): 15/0; 3 (16-20): 24/1.

West Indies: C. Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46, M. Samuels lbw b Pathan 9, R. Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6, B. Lara c Raina b Powar 69, D. Bravo (not out) 61, W. Hinds (not out) 13. Extras (lb-5, nb-1, w-8) 14. Total (for four wkts. in 44 overs) 218.

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-49, 3-91, 4-182.

India bowling: Pathan 5-0-32-1, Sreesanth 9-1-39-0, Agarkar 8-1-24-1, Harbhajan 10-1-42-0, Powar 9-0-56-2, Yuvraj 2-0-10-0, Raina 1-0-10-0.

Power Play 1 (1-10): 49/2; 2 (11-15): 21/0; 3 (24-28): 19/0.

Man of the Match: Dwayne Bravo

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