India's Sachin Tendulkar (left) reacts as he misses a delivery from West Indies bowler Dwayne Smith during their tri-series match in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Tendulkar went on to make an undefeated 141, but the West Indies won, thanks to the Duckworth/Lewis System in the rain-affected match. - Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP):

INDIA'S SACHIN Tendulkar celebrated his return to international cricket with an unbeaten 141 yesterday, but the masterly knock went in vain as the West Indies were declared winners of the rain-marred limited-overs match on a higher scoring rate.

"It will be a special hundred because it came on a difficult track and after six months of break. I am quite happy about it," Tendulkar said.

"I had to work out certain things and play differently, and all those things clicked and I am happy about it," he said of his 40th one-day century.

"The 40th century is a number. But it is sad that we could not win the match because I always say that getting runs in a winning match is very satisfying."

He said West Indies would have had to fight hard to win the match if the rain had not interrupted the game and given them a victory on technicality.

"I thought we had a very very good chance. Runs wouldn't have come so easily" for the West Indies.

Steady drizzle

Chasing a massive 309 for five in 50 overs in the second match of the tri-series tournament, West Indies were 141 for two after 20 overs when a steady drizzle soaked the Kinrara Oval, forcing the match to be abandoned.

West Indies were deemed to have won by 29 runs as they needed only 112 for two after 20 overs to tie the match under the Duckworth-Lewis formula.

West Indies captain Brian Lara agreed with Tendulkar.

"I still think it was a lot closer even though we were batting really well ... Both teams had a very good chance," he said.

The credit for the victory clearly went to opener Chris Gayle who slaughtered the Indian attack, making 45 runs in 35 balls with nine fours. He was caught behind trying to slash a rising delivery by Rudra Pratap Singh.

The ferocity of the attack was clear from the fact that fellow opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored only six of the 32 runs in the first-wicket partnership. Opening bowler Irfan Pathan went for 22 runs in his first two overs before being taken out.

Ramnaresh Sarwan made 37 in 49 balls and captain Brian Lara smashed 27 in 30 balls with four boundaries to help accelerate the scoring rate to 7.14 per over.

The unexpected West Indies victory overshadowed Tendulkar's 40th one-day century, which regaled a few hundred expatriate Indians occupying the largely empty stands at the Kinrara Oval.

It was the first full innings by one-day cricket's leading runscorer since his shoulder surgery in March.

Lara also praised Tendulkar for his magnificent knock.

"For a guy coming back after six months, it shows how much of a genius he is. We just have to watch it and appreciate it," he said.

Three-nation tournament

Tendulkar took the field in a one-day international in August during a three-nation tournament at Sri Lanka, but faced only three balls and scored two runs before the match and the series was washed out by torrential rains.

Tendulkar's first full match before that was in February against Pakistan in Multan, where he made duck after scoring 95 in the previous match in Lahore. He missed India's May-July tour of the West Indies while recovering from his surgery.

His knock yesterday was built around a 125-run, second-wicket partnership with Pathan, who smashed 64 runs to justify his shift up the batting order to the number 3 slot.

Captain Rahul Dravid (26) and Tendulkar laid the foundation for the massive score with a 75-run first wicket partnership. Tendulkar then teamed up with Suresh Raina, who made 34 from 29 balls, for a 68-run, fifth wicket partnership in the final phase of the game.

The last 10 overs produced 89 runs, largely due to a display of power-hitting from Tendulkar, whose 148-ball knock included 13 fours and five sixes.

Uneven bounce caused by a depression in the pitch claimed the wickets of Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Mahender Singh Dhoni.