CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (CMC):

Batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan said West Indies never panicked as they chased down a tricky total to win the second One-Day International and take a crucial 1-0 lead in the five-match series against New Zealand yesterday.

In a match reduced to 28 overs per side because of a four-hour rain break, West Indies successfully chased down New Zealand's 152 for eight, reaching 158 for five to win by five wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis Method, with a ball to spare.

Requiring 30 runs from the last three overs, West Indies pummelled 14 from the penultimate over sent down by off-spinner Jeetan Patel, to narrow their target to four runs off the final over.

"We felt if we could get one big over that that could bring us back into the game and would do it for us," said Man-of-the-Match Sarwan, who was the architect of the triumph with an unbeaten 67 from 65 balls.

"That is what we were counting on. That was part of our target and we got that big over to bring us back into the game."

Staring defeat in the face at 110 for five in the 23rd over, West Indies were hauled to safety by Sarwan's 32-ball, unbroken 48-run, sixth-wicket stand with vice-captain Denesh Ramdin, whose cameo 28 required just 18 balls.

Sarwan hit just three fours and a six off the final ball of the 25th over by pacer Kyle Mills, but kept the scoreboard ticking over by rotating the strike well.

no frustration

"I was not getting frustrated. In the middle overs I was just trying to score as many singles as possible and rotate the strike," said the former Windies captain.

"I thought all along that the key would be to have wickets in hand and that gave us the chance to launch. As you saw there at the end, the wickets in hand paid off."

Sarwan praised Ramdin's big effort and also hailed the Windies bowlers for limiting New Zealand in their turn at the crease.

"This innings is really going to give him a lot of confidence. He was under a bit of pressure but tonight he really played well. He took control, played freely and took the pressure off of me. He was the right man at the right time," he pointed out.

"The bowlers did the job for us up front. They were aggressive when they needed to be and worked well as a bowling unit to put the New Zealand batsmen under pressure. A victory like this will give us momentum for the rest of the series."

The third match is scheduled for the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (Tuesday, 8 p.m. Jamaica time).

The opening match in Queenstown was abandoned due to rain after just two hours play on Wednesday.