ALLE, Sri Lanka (CMC):

One of the promotional campaigns for a West Indies home series a few years ago urged the players and the fans to 'live the passion'!

New West Indies captain Darren Sammy has typified this quality in his sporadic appearance for West Indies over the last three years, and he believes it came boiling to the surface in his side's performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka, which ended in a draw on Friday.

"This match has shown we can be competitive, and we can put ourselves in winning positions, so this should give the guys confidence going into the second Test. This Test is over, we now start a whole new Test, and we need to keep improving as a team."

West Indies took control of the match, following Chris Gayle's monumental second Test triple-hundred of 333 that lifted the visitors to 580 for nine declared, after they chose to bat on a hard, easy-paced Galle International Stadium pitch.

They dismissed Sri Lanka for 378 to gain a first-inning lead of 241, and though it was clear that Sammy's decision to enforce the follow-on put an enormous physical strain on their limited bowling resources, they all stuck to the task manfully.

It was this kind of attitude that Sammy and coach Ottis Gibson have challenged the players to typify every time they take the field, and the all-rounder believes off-spinner Shane Shillingford typified this quality in the Test.

Still, Sammy observed they were a few areas of concern. He identified the fielding as a vital component, which they need to get right to fortify their team, and he would have liked a little more substance from the middle-order batsmen, but he conceded there were more positives than negatives.

"The guys have been working hard, and it showed in the way we performed in this Test."

He said: ""We couldn't dictate the next step, but I know this result will give our guys confidence ahead of the next Test.

"We came here with a winning mindset. We did everything that we were supposed to do in this Test match. We had a good chance of winning by putting some pressure on them, but it didn't work out."

Sammy acknowledged the way things went in the Test made his first match on the job a whole lot easier, but he was realistic about his role.

"There is always room for improvement," he said. "It's a learning experience for me at the international level.