Ahmedabad: What seemed near-impossible Wednesday evening looked like a false alarm the day after. Brian Lara could hardly bend or bat at nets on the eve of the match, and many were more than surprised to see the West Indies captain walk out for the toss in the afternoon.

Did the back strain vanish through some miracle performed by the team physio? Had he intentionally kept his condition under wraps from the prying media? Or, did he take a risk by deciding not to keep himself out of this crucial game?

The questions kept doing the rounds. The West Indies team management was tight-lipped, saying that the decision was taken a minute before the toss, at 1.59 pm.

“I wasn’t a 100 per cent fit but had the feeling that if I was 80 to 90 per cent okay, then I would play,” was what Lara said after his team’s three-wicket win. “It was a very important game and I didn’t want to drag our qualification till the last one.”

According to sources, Lara decided to play after spending nearly 45 minutes on the massage table with physio Stephen Partridge. This was followed by two rounds of jogging around the ground, which made him feel fine.

The soreness that he experienced Wednesday had reduced substantially after a specially-designed medicated belt was strapped around his waist.

The electrifying atmosphere at the stadium must have also played its part in Lara’s decision. Great players can hardly keep themselves out of big occasions.

Lara certainly took Rahul Dravid and Co. by surprise. And it showed on the field, too. In effect, Lara’s masterstroke had felled them.