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Brian Lara was realistic enough to describe the opposition India "A" and to caution that the victory in the last preliminary round match of the Coca-Cola Singapore Challenge yesterday, comprehensive as it was by 42 runs, carried no relevance to tomorrow’s final.

India rested their captain and main batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, and their most experienced bowler, Anil Kumble. They also had to do without vice-captain, Ajay Jadeja, who was hobbing about on crutches after tearing his right calf muscle in Saturday’s win over Zimbabwe so badly he will be sidelined for three weeks.

The West Indies gave Courtney Walsh the match off and Lara kept himself back for No. 7 just above the bowlers.

They might even have thought of inviting Carl Hooper, over from his new home in Adelaide, Australia, to make a guest appearance but the retired all-rounder was strictly here on a brief holiday.

Just as significantly, the match, like Saturday’s, was reduced to 30 overs an innings by overnight rain of tropical intensity that left the already soft outfield mushy.

A contest 40 per cent longer, as the final is scheduled to be, demands entirely different strategies, and a final will not brook the casual approach of something that was, in effect, meaningless.

As it was, Lara – who chose to bat on winning the toss – still found that he had to come to provide the momentum over the late overs that lifted the total to 191 for seven.

He lashed five sixes and two fours in 60 off 43 balls, adding 61 off 52 balls for the sixth wicket with Ricardo Powell whose 46 was off 44 balls with a six and a four.

The last ten overs yielded 98 and India were never in it once Ridley Jacobs’ alertness punished Saurav Ganguly’s slackness for lingering out of his crease to Nixon McLean’s leg-side delivery.

The wicket-keeper’s direct throw stumped India’s captain for the day to end a partnership of 73 off 17 overs with Rahaul Dravid, and the remainder of the batting could not make the necessary progress against bowling that did its job.

Lara arrived with the innings faltering following the first- ball dismissal of Jacobs and the removal of the other left- hander, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (23 off 14 balls with two sixes and a four), Jimmy Adams (a struggling eight off 23 balls), newcomer Wavell Hinds for one and Nixon McLean (23 off 31 balls).

All but Hinds, who edged a cut off his fourth ball from off- spinner Nihil Chopra to the ’keeper, fell to skied catches to the outfield.

Lara joined the aggressive Powell at 85 for five without a boundary for the previous eight overs and with plenty of work to do.

After a brief period of examination of the bowling and the conditions, he could not be contained, lashing sixes on both sides of the wicket with his unique co-ordination of eye, shoulders and wrists.

Powell, not as certain against the spin of Chopra and the orthodox left-armer Sunil Joshi, found encouragement in his captain’s company.

He lifted the occasional off-spinner Sandogopan Ramesh for a huge six over long-on and Lara followed suit in an over that yielded 20 and kickstarted the rush that brought 98 off the last ten overs.

Powell was finally stumped, thrashing at Chopra with 5.2 overs left, and Lara skied the lively swing bowler Debasish Mohantu to long-on.

India had almost as immediate a setback as the West Indies when Nehemiah Perry clung on to an athletic catch at second attempt at short extra-cover to dismiss Ramesh, one of 11 left-handed batsmen in the match.

But Ganguly, another one, and Dravid were beginning to prosper when Jacobs’ presence of mind, and accuracy, ended Ganguly’s innings of 32 off 46 balls with four fours.

Four overs later, Dravid lofted McLean to long-off and no one else contributed as India declined to the silent disappointment of another large turnout of their supporters.

Merv Dillon was the most economical of the bowlers but six wides again spoiled his figures. King and Bryan were consistent in line and length except for two off-side long- hops than were slapped to the boundary by Ganguly. McLean recovered from an untidy opening over costing nine to finish with two for 32 off his six.

They did as much as they had to for a good victory. With Tendulkar and Kumble back tomorrow’s encounter (start time of 10 p.m. tonight Barbados time), they will find they have to do a lot more.