Dravid acknowledges the applause for his 12th ODI hundred

After a rain-delayed start, India won in the final over and Chappell said: "They'd set a very competitive score and Rahul obviously played very well.

"We needed someone to get a hundred at the top of the order, he took it upon himself and played a top class innings.

"To get a win when we didn't play as well as we have been is satisfying."

Chappell believes that Dravid has found his niche in the one-day game as an opener.

"His innings was better than 100 strike rate, that's awesome for someone who a few years ago they said couldn't play one-day cricket," the coach enthused.

"He's got better and better, he's enjoying the role at the top of the order, it suits him because he can play an innings like that, and without it we wouldn't have won that game."

Yes we are bottom of the big nations but we still have a good game Brian Lara

Chappell was also delighted with the return to form of Mohammad Kaif, who shared 123 in 21 overs with Dravid.

"We felt he would come back and we've tried to give him as many opportunities as possible," he said.

"He earned those opportunities because of what he's done in the past, he's a young player, a good fielder and has experience.

"Looking ahead to the World Cup we still see him as a very important player in the side."

Gayle displayed his usual array of extravagant strokes

Given the volume of rain in Jamaica, it was a surprise to many, including Chappell, that only five overs per side were lost.

"Most of us when we woke up expected there to be no cricket today and maybe it took us a while to get started," he said.

Chappell also praised West Indies, who fought hard despite being beaten by South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand in one-day series within the last year.

"West Indies have some very talented players in that team but they have just forgotten how to win," he said.

"We don't under-rate them at all, we see them as a side who could very quickly turn it around, they can score runs quickly and take wickets quickly if they get a roll on.

"One-day cricket is a pretty even race, any one of the top eight teams could probably win on their day.

I still think Ganguly was a more inspirational leader than Dravid From SF Have your say on TMS

West Indies captain Brian Lara said his side had not been getting the respect they deserve.

"Yes we are bottom of the big nations but we still have a good game, it's just inconsistent, and we need to turn close matches into victories.

"India needed every last ounce to beat us but it could have gone either way.

"We need to work on a few things, a lot more than the Indians, but if we can get that together you will see an improved performance."

It was a momentous occasion for Gayle, who made his first international century at his home ground.

"It's very, very pleasing, and I hope it's the first of many more to come," said the left-hander, after his 12th ODI hundred.

"After watching a couple of my innings against Zimbabwe, I recognised that I was starting slow and I know that's not typically Chris Gayle.

"So I decided to up the tempo a bit and be more aggressive early on. It paid off in the end, and after that I tried to settle down and build the innings gradually."