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NEWS ICC Champions Trophy 2006>Victory will give us confidence: Lara 08th Oct 2006 23.55 IST By Agencies West Indies skipper Brian Lara said the convincing victory against Zimbabwe would give confidence to his team ahead of the more important battles in the Champions Trophy. "We had come here to win the match. The bowlers got going early. We showed some purpose in out approach. And this win will give us more confidence for future," Lara told media persons after his team cantered to a nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad.
"The pitch deserved to go the entire 100 overs," the 37-year-old Trinidadian said. "I am happy with the position we are presently in. We have worked on all facets of the game," Lara said. Having picked up two points from the game, the West Indies would now proceed to Jaipur to take on minnows Bangladesh in their next qualifier on October 11. Asked whether weak teams like Zimbabwe should be allowed to take part in elite tournaments, Lara said, "its very important to encourage sides like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to compete with the best teams of the world. "Bangladesh have defeated formidable Australia and Pakistan in the past. And these teams have the ability to spring surprises. They should be given opportunities to face higher ranked sides. Its good for cricket". Man-of-the-match Christopher Henry Gayle said he started a bit slow when he went on to bat, but picked up momentum after spending some time in the crease. Gayle came up with an all-round show, claiming three wickets and then hit a blistering 34-ball 41 to set the pace for the West Indies win. "I was looking to entertain and be positive," said the left-hander. Zimbabwean skipper Prosper Utseya said poor shot selection and lack of application' had cost his team the match "We did not apply ourselves. We played too many shots. And the shot selection was poor," the 21-year-old Utseya said He admitted that the humiliating defeat could have a demoralising effect on his team. "The morale does go down," he said when asked what effect such a loss would have on his side. A dejected Prosper said nothing went right for the Zimbabweans during the match. "We had initially set a target of getting 250 runs in our innings. And had we got there it would have been a good match," said the youngest skipper among the participating teams in the Champions Trophy. "We did not play to the best of our ability and I think we can do much better," said the off-spinner. Asked how his boys would now prepare for the next qualifying game against the in-form Sri Lankans at the same venue on Tuesday, Prosper replied "We will try to do the basics right". Also View In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006 Team Page: West Indies Team Page: Zimbabwe | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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