'You just have to win, win, win' - Lara

It's hard enough for top-quality bowlers to come up against a rampaging Chris Gayle, just spare a thought for the lesser teams. Unfortunately for them, Gayle's made a habit of pulverising minnows - he averages 59 against Zimbabwe and close to 49 against Bangladesh - and today it was a premeditated assault. Start steady, motor along and go ballistic towards the end.

"Things weren't that easy," he said at the end of the day, beaming a cheeky smile. "The wicket was keeping low and one needed to concentrate. I needed to capitalise on the start. Hopefully I can better my performance against Sri Lanka." But was the wicket really that difficult? Was Bangladesh's surrender understandable? "It was a good wicket and we saw that when they batted early on. But they didn't really capitalise on the start. It wasn't the easiest of wickets to start but it's something that needed you to dig deep. Once you got in you can pace yourself and go on from there."

The manner in which he went after them as the finish line approached made the bowling look quite pedestrian. "It's definitely not the weakest attack in ODI cricket," Gayle retorted when asked his thoughts. "They bowled well, especially the two left-arm spinners. They put the ball in the right areas. My game-plan was to go out there and not take it for granted. I'm a good reader of the game and it's a situation - when I've played 100 and odd one-day games - that one learns."

His constant chatter with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, towards the end of the game, didn't go unnoticed. "Chanderpaul and myself wanted to work well in partnership, we wanted to communicate and plan it well and stay till the the end," he continued. "I wanted a hundred and he wanted a fifty, so he said, 'Chris, whatever you do make sure I get my fifty as well.'"

Gayle and Chanderpaul have taken care of the bulk of West Indies batting in the opening two games of the tournament but Brian Lara wasn't too concerned. "The game on Saturday [against Sri Lanka] is very, very important for us we's love to qualify No.1 and move on. If Chris and Chanderpaul are the only two to bat on Saturday, this is great for us. There is no room for experimentation at this present time. You just have to win, win, win.

"No team wants to pick themselves up from a loss going into the more important stage of the tournament," he continued looking ahead to the Sri Lanka game, "so I think both teams going to be very competitive. West Indies is going out to put out their best XI and we are going to go really strongly for a win. I think three wins on a trot, going into the second stage of the tournament, is definitely going to be positive."

West Indies' fortunes, though, will hinge on the fitness of their players, three of whom were ill-disposed. Lara admitted that it was a serious concern. "Starting with Sarwan, Smith and Morton, and now Fidel it's hard to quarantine the guys specially if you travel. Hopefully Fidel will be back in the field soon."