Alex Balfour reports from the Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka

Wake up world, the West Indies are back. The West Indies showed glimpses of the professionalism and mental toughness of former great West Indian teams in comprehensively beating India in Dhaka yesterday. It was easily the best win of the tournament. Whatever happens in today's final, and a tired West Indies will do very well to record back to back wins, the West Indies' performances here have brought them back into the international reckoning.

The victory was built on some marvellous bowling from man of the match Mervyn Dillon and Reon King whose 10 overs for 26 runs were an object lesson in controlled one day bowling. King bowled with so much confidence it was hard to believe this was his first One Day International, and he looks a real find for the West Indies. The West Indian fielding was pretty useful too. Though out on the boundary ropes the West Indians' predilection for using their feet to stop the ball was almost their undoing, Arthurton, Simmons and Hooper in the infield were in fantastic form. Between them the West Indians must have shied at the stumps a dozen times during the day, and only once missed. Once they had restricted India to 242, Philo Wallace came out to do what he does best and proceeded to belt the Indian attack all over the ground. His batting is so positive it's infectious, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul caught the bug yesterday, launching the tallest six of the tournament over the bowler's head off Kumble.

The rot started for India in Dillon's second over when a peach of a ball caught Tendulkar fishing outside off and Hooper took a wonderful catch diving to his right at wide slip. Dillon troubled new batsman with a lifting ball in his third over, and angled the next in on a fuller length on middle stump. Azhar was caught lbw coming forward as the ball rapped his ankle, and Dillon boxed the air in delight. Thereafter India never found their feet again. Dravid and Ganguly, frankly, looked out of their depth looked a little out of their depth against the onslaught. Ganguly could only offer a repeated defensive push to off as Dillon continued to bang them in. One cut from Ganguly aside, the Indian batsmen made hardly any headway, and after 10 overs were 27 for two.

Where the pacemen has bamboozled the Indians with their unrelenting accuracy, Hooper bemused the Indian pairing with variety. By now both batsmen were hoping to magic runs from thin air, trying to run off half shots and near hits. Simmons too was bowling a much better length than on Thursday. It was all too much for Dravid who tried to belt him through mid wicket in his second over, missed completely and was stumped smartly by Jacobs. The decision was referred to the third umpire who took a painfully long time to decide to let Dravid stay in. The replay suggested it was the wrong decision and there were probably a few individuals in the Indian dressing room who wouldn't have minded had the decision gone against Dravid, so slowly was he scoring. In the next over he got himself out anyway, trying to sweep Hooper off one knee, looping a dolly drop to Williams at square leg.

Just as Ganguly was shaping up to be India's hero with two marvellous sixes off Arthurton, in the following over he sent Jadeja back from the non- striker's end. Lara scooped up the ball and skittled the stumps before Jadeja could get back in his crease. Ganguly was out soon after trying to hit a wide ball outside off from Lewis. Ganguly's 83 off 116 balls may look good in the statisticians' books, but in truth it was a totally inappropriate innings for the conditions, and far too hesitant to boot.

Lara's strange decision not to bowl out Dillon gave India glimmer of hope and Singh took advantage. He took 18 off one Lewis over with a sequence of no run, two, six, no run, six and four. Both the sixes flew over long on, and the four was swept beautifully behind square when Lewis, bowling round the wicket, fed Singh's best shot with no fielder in range. In the process Singh brought up his 50. Hooper could have held Robin Singh in the last over but mistimed his run in from cover and a skier dropped short. The next ball Dillon ripped out Mongia's off stump. Srinath came in for the dying moments, and guided India to 242 for 6 at the close.

The crowd had barely settled into their seats when Philo Wallace arrogantly stepped forward and struck the first delivery of the West Indian innings from Srinath over the boundary at long off, to get the West Indians off to a dream start. Though Williams fell early, caught Mongia off Srinath, Wallace repeated the heroics of the Pakistan quarter final, taking the West Indies to 44 for 1 off the first five with some aggressive hitting.

Chanderpaul was also in electrifying form, tucking into Joshi's first over and letting rip a beautiful drive back past the stumps for four. When it was Wallace's turn to face Joshi, Azhar brought up a suicidal looking short leg in the form of Dravid, and it was easy to speculate that the placing was a perverse punishment for Dravid's lacklustre innings. Fortunately for Rahul, Joshi chose to bowl to Wallace on the leg stump, offering him easy sweeps to long leg. It was he who recorded the best West Indian score of the day, and was ultimately only undone by cramp.

Sachin bowled out of his skin again and tied the West Indians down for a while, but in the end West Indies won at a canter, assited by some appalling fielding from India. Lara skied Dravid through midwicket and out of the despairing reach of Singh to reach his 50 off 79 balls. He’s played many better innings, but this one should set him up for today, when West Indies will badly need a Lara in half way decent nick. With 9 runs needed off 23 Arthurton decided enough was enough and sent Dravid over mid wicket for a one bounce four. Three balls later it was all over as Arthurton slashed through the covers and the West Indies turned in the easiest and best win of the tournament.

Zahid Newaz reports from around the ground

With their victory in the semi-final against India, West Indies captain Brian Lara was quite happy with the huge support given to his team by the Dhaka crowd Saturday.

After their Wills Cup opener against Pakistan on Thursday, the Test run world record holder praised the spectators who packed the 35,000-capacity Bangabandhu National Stadium. At the same time, the Caribbean skipper was a little frustrated that almost the entire stadium wanted a win for Pakistan, maybe for their sub-continental affiliation.

But things looked different when West Indies took on India in the second semi-final. Spectators supporting Azharuddin and Co. were still larger in number, but the Calypsos also got huge support from the crowd who flew West Indian flags, beat drums and chanted for Lara.

``Why shall we not support the West Indies? They are the best side in the tournament as they were before,'' said Mahmudul Haq who came from Wari in the old part of the city.

Amidst a flying start by Philo Wallace, Haq said: Bangladesh is not here. But I feel the same pride when the black West Indies players show good performance.

Apart from the local crowd, when other teams, including Australia and South Africa, got support at least from some of their own people at the stadium, none was found to have come from the Caribbean islands.

Despite heavy local support for West Indies, the Indian tri-colour, however, outnumbered the West Indian flags. The shoutings for Sachin-Sourav were also much louder and stronger than for Lara.

Several vendors were found selling the Indian flags outside the stadium. One of them, Kashem said he sold some 50 Indian flags before and during the second semi-final today.

Asked why there is no flag of West Indies, he said: I don't know why. One Saeed supplied the flags of only India and earlier of Pakistan. He didn't supply other flags.

Like Kashem, many vendors, not allowed inside the stadium this time as previously, were quite happy with the eight-match 10-day tournament involving the nine-test playing nations.

``Could it be continued for a longer period, we won't have any problem of bread and butter,'' said Abdur Rahim, a seller of ``muri'' (puffed rice). ``The World Cup Football continues for a month, why not this one,'' he asked.

With the end in sight for the ``mini world cup'' as the second semi-final was being played Saturday night, the cricket-mad Dhaka spectators were feeling sort of disappointed about the tournament being for only a week. ``This is true that everything ends. But such a tournament should be of longer duration,'' said Rahat, a young man, who claimed himself as cricket-mad.

However, the enthusiastic cricket fans thanked both International Cricket Council and Bangladesh Cricket Board for holding such an event in the country. ``We never imagined we'll be able to watch even West Indies or South Africa in Dhaka. But we saw all the nine test-playing countries in action,'' Rahat, a youngman, said with delight.