/ Editor / 14 March 2007 /

A thrilled West Indies captain, Brian Lara, praised his side's youngsters after their opening World Cup win over Pakistan.

The hosts stunned Pakistan with a 54-run win, posting 241-9 before skittling the tourists out for just 187. And 37-year-old veteran Lara, himself playing in a fifth World Cup, says his side are being driven forward by their emerging stars.

"It's important the youngsters seize this moment," he said.

"This is not a World Cup for the experienced players. We are going to be tapping on the shoulders of the younger guys, telling them we want to win.

"They came through for us and that was really special."

Jamaican batsman Marlon Samuels hit 63, Trinidadian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo took three wickets and Dwayne Smith was man-of-the-match with a quick 32 and three significant wickets.

Lara added: "Our confidence is going to be sky high now. We are going to have to come down a couple of levels to get the guys ready for the next game."

West Indies face tournament outsiders Zimbabwe in their next Group D fixture and are the 1.06 favourites to build on their opening win over Pakistan in Betfair's Match Odds market.

The host nation are also now trading at 1.04 to emerge as Group D winners, while Bravo is trading at 22 to end the tournament as the top wicket-taker.

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