DHAKA, Bangladesh (CMC):

Head coach Ottis Gibson believes if the weather had not intervened, West Indies would have pulled off another sensational victory to beat Sri Lanka in the first semi-final of the World Twenty20 on Thursday.

In pursuit of 161 for victory and a place in tomorrow's final, West Indies were struggling at 80 for four in the 14th over when a furious rain and hail storm arrived to end play prematurely, with the Caribbean side trailing by 27 runs on Duckworth/Lewis.

Confidence

And though the Windies required nearly 13 per over in order to win, Gibson said the confidence in the dressing room suggested this was definitely possible.

He continued: "[On Thursday night], the weather came and brought an end to the journey but I'm really proud of how the guys committed themselves to the cause, committed themselves to the journey and the way they went about their business," he added.

In the end, West Indies were let down by their sluggish start with the usually aggressive Chris Gayle managing just three runs from 13 balls before dragging on to Lasith Malinga, and Lendl Simmons getting just four from eight deliveries.

This meant that the Windies were only 40 for three after eight overs and therefore way behind the Duckworth/Lewis par score of 108 when the rains finally came.

"A lot has been said about how slowly we started but you have to give credit to the Sri Lankans. We got 17 off the first over and they went straightaway to their trump card, to Malinga and he got two wickets that set us back a little bit and we had to re-group," Gibson explained.

"I'm sure the game was heading towards another grandstand finish but it wasn't to be. Now we're on our way home, disappointed obviously for it to finish the way it did but also pleased with the way we went about our business in the tournament.

"Retaining the title was never going to be easy. It was going to take a huge effort and everybody was up for that."