India Aim to Put Twenty20 Failure Behind Them

Kingston: India have arrived in the Caribbean promising to put the bad memory of their failure in the Twenty20 World Cup behind them.

The Indians face West Indies in four One-Day Internationals on their brief trip to the Caribbean fresh from their exit from the Twenty20 World Cup at the Super Eight stage.

"When it comes to playing for your country, you don't really need motivation to go out and perform," said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on arrival.

"West Indies are playing good cricket at the moment. They (had) a very good Twenty20 World Cup, but in the 50 overs, you have time to settle down. After playing so much Twenty20 games, 50 overs seem like a Test match."

The Indian players have had a surfeit of Twenty20 matches, after going straight into the Twenty20 World Cup, following the second staging of the Indian Premier League in South Africa, and this has led to the visitors missing four key players through injury.

Batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar opted to take time off to fully recover from a finger injury he sustained during the IPL.

Shoulder injuries have sidelined talismanic opener Virender Sehwag and left-arm strike bowler Zaheer Khan, and middle-order batsman Suresh Raina has a hairline fracture in one of his thumbs.

"You're always going to miss them because they are great players, but it's a great opportunity for a tour of this nature for young players to show what they're made of," said India coach Gary Kirsten.

"We're looking to those young players for the future as well. This is a great opportunity for these guys to stake their claim."

Kirsten also noted that India have been in great form in ODIs over the last year, losing only three matches of 18, and his side will be looking forward to extending that form.

The first two ODIs take place at Sabina Park on Friday and Sunday, followed by two more the following Friday and Sunday at St. Lucia's Beausejour Cricket Ground.