India in West Indies ODI Series - 1st ODI - India won by 20 runs
Friday, June 26, 2009
india 339/6 (50 ov)
West Indies 319 (48.1 ov)
- India in West Indies ODI Series - 1st ODI
- ODI no. 2853 | 2009 season
- Played at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
- 26 June 2009 (50-over match)
India innings (50 overs maximum) | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
KD Karthik | c †Ramdin b Bernard | 67 | 77 | 6 | 1 | 87.01 | ||
28.4 The paddle-scoop has done him in this time. He fetched it from outside off but only scooped it straight up for Ramdin to hold a simple catch. Bernard had taken pace off that ball 167/3 | ||||||||
G Gambhir | c DJ Bravo b Taylor | 13 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 92.85 | ||
4.3 Ooh la la! the bouncer has done the trick. Again. That sinking Twenty20 feeling again. Well-directed pacy bouncer on the middle stump, from round the stumps, Gambhir took his eyes off the ball, yanked his head away from the line but tried to go through with the pull shot. Mistake. The ball took the top edge and lobbed to square leg. 25/1 | ||||||||
RG Sharma | c DJ Bravo b Baker | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | ||
7.2 Would you believe it? Another man goes down to the short-pitched delivery. Rohit goes for an unconvincing pull and top edges it to deep square-leg region. Taylor hadn't bowled a bouncer at Rohit and had kept him waiting. And Lionel Baker threw in the knockout punch with a short delivery outside off stump and Rohit tried to fetch it from there. 32/2 | ||||||||
Yuvraj Singh | c †Ramdin b DJ Bravo | 131 | 102 | 10 | 7 | 128.43 | ||
38.1 And Yuvraj is gone now. Storm abates. It was full and down the leg side, poor delivery actually, Yuvraj edges the flick behind the wicket and Ramdin dives to his right to take a very fine catch. What a knock though from Yuvraj. Powerpacked and entertaining. It was a pleasure to watch. 253/4 | ||||||||
MS Dhoni*† | run out (†Ramdin) | 41 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 89.13 | ||
46.2 Taylor to Pathan, Dhoni falls, attempting to steal a leg bye. It moved past the hurried prod and rolled towards Ramdin. Dhoni rushed across but is caught short of the crease by direct hit from Ramdin 298/6 | ||||||||
RA Jadeja | c †Ramdin b DJ Bravo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
38.2 Two in two. It was full and angling away from Jadeja who has a lame poke at it. Fatal. 253/5 | ||||||||
YK Pathan | not out | 40 | 38 | 2 | 2 | 105.26 | ||
Harbhajan Singh | not out | 21 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 161.53 | ||
Extras | (b 1, lb 8, w 10, nb 3) | 22 | ||||||
Total | (6 wickets; 50 overs) | 339 | (6.78 runs per over) |
Did not bat I Sharma, RP Singh, A Nehra |
Fall of wickets1-25 (Gambhir, 4.3 ov), 2-32 (RG Sharma, 7.2 ov), 3-167 (Karthik, 28.4 ov), 4-253 (Yuvraj Singh, 38.1 ov), 5-253 (Jadeja, 38.2 ov), 6-298 (Dhoni, 46.2 ov) |
Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |||
JE Taylor | 10 | 1 | 74 | 1 | 7.40 | (2nb, 3w) | ||
4.3 to Gambhir, Ooh la la! the bouncer has done the trick. Again. That sinking Twenty20 feeling again. Well-directed pacy bouncer on the middle stump, from round the stumps, Gambhir took his eyes off the ball, yanked his head away from the line but tried to go through with the pull shot. Mistake. The ball took the top edge and lobbed to square leg. 25/1 | ||||||||
LS Baker | 9 | 0 | 62 | 1 | 6.88 | (1nb, 1w) | ||
7.2 to RG Sharma, Would you believe it? Another man goes down to the short-pitched delivery. Rohit goes for an unconvincing pull and top edges it to deep square-leg region. Taylor hadn't bowled a bouncer at Rohit and had kept him waiting. And Lionel Baker threw in the knockout punch with a short delivery outside off stump and Rohit tried to fetch it from there. 32/2 | ||||||||
DJ Bravo | 10 | 0 | 66 | 2 | 6.60 | (3w) | ||
38.1 to Yuvraj Singh, And Yuvraj is gone now. Storm abates. It was full and down the leg side, poor delivery actually, Yuvraj edges the flick behind the wicket and Ramdin dives to his right to take a very fine catch. What a knock though from Yuvraj. Powerpacked and entertaining. It was a pleasure to watch. 253/4 38.2 to Jadeja, Two in two. It was full and angling away from Jadeja who has a lame poke at it. Fatal. 253/5 | ||||||||
DE Bernard | 8 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 6.25 | (3w) | ||
28.4 to Karthik, The paddle-scoop has done him in this time. He fetched it from outside off but only scooped it straight up for Ramdin to hold a simple catch. Bernard had taken pace off that ball 167/3 | ||||||||
SJ Benn | 10 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 5.00 | |||
CH Gayle | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 9.33 | |||
West Indies innings (target: 340 runs from 50 overs) | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||
CH Gayle* | c Harbhajan Singh b Nehra | 37 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 112.12 | ||
9.3 Nehra gets the big wicket of Chris Gayle in his comeback game. It was short in length and Gayle went for the pull but mistimed it wide of mid-on where Harbhajan ran to his left to take a neat catch. 65/1 | ||||||||
RS Morton | c †Dhoni b Pathan | 42 | 51 | 4 | 1 | 82.35 | ||
15.5 slightly short on middle and spinning down leg, Morton tries to tickle that fine but it goes straight to the keeper Dhoni who appeals for caught-behind and wins the umpire's approval, Morton wasn't happy there, we'll need replays to confirm what happened. It seems to have gone off the thigh pad 100/2 | ||||||||
RR Sarwan | run out (Singh/†Dhoni) | 45 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 107.14 | ||
24.6 from Yuvraj Singh, Sarwan is run out. He cut to deep backward point and turned for the second run. But couldn't make it back in time to beat the throw from RP Singh. Dhoni broke the stumps to beat the desperate lunge from Sarwan 151/3 | ||||||||
S Chanderpaul | c Jadeja b Pathan | 63 | 59 | 3 | 3 | 106.77 | ||
35.4 But he has holed out to deep midwicket now. Chanderpaul moved down the track, Yusuf bowled on his legs and its flicked straight to the fielder. 224/5 | ||||||||
DJ Bravo | c RG Sharma b I Sharma | 8 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 38.09 | ||
31.5 high full toss, Bravo edges the attempted pull to cover where Rohit Sharma catches the ball and throws at the non-striker's end. It was above waist-high and Bravo was expecting it to be called a no-ball. Perhaps, that's what Rohit also thought as he went for the run out. But the umpires have ruled Bravo out. No no-ball signal came and Bravo walked off unhappily. His young brother walks in. 188/4 | ||||||||
DM Bravo | c Singh b Harbhajan Singh | 19 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 118.75 | ||
38.3 Darren looked to step out but the bowler shortened the length and he top edged the pull to RP at deep midwicket. 99 from 69 balls. Just four wickets in hand. 241/6 | ||||||||
JE Taylor | lbw b Pathan | 21 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 140.00 | ||
39.3 skidded on from short of length towards the middle stump, Taylor went for the big pull, missed and was caught in front. 250/7 | ||||||||
D Ramdin† | c Harbhajan Singh b Nehra | 29 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 111.53 | ||
48.1 And India win the game by 20 runs. Ramdin went for the big hit over mid-off but couldn't clear the cordon. Harbhajan Singh takes the catch at mid-off and hugs Yuvraj. Fine effort from West Indies to come close but no cigar. India might wonder how it go so close in the end despite the absence of any top-order batsmen or any power hitters. The wides and the numerous deliveries on and outside the leg stump would have made Dhoni lose some more hair. Hang on for post-match ceremony. 319/10 | ||||||||
DE Bernard | c RG Sharma b Nehra | 19 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 95.00 | ||
44.5 Bernard walks down the track and swings it powerfully to deep midwicket boundary and Rohit, who was a few metres inside the boundary, had to retreat and he lunged back to hold on to a good catch. 294/8 | ||||||||
SJ Benn | b Singh | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 116.66 | ||
47.4 Clatter! Full in length, moves in, Benn goes for the leg side, has a big swing but missed it completely. Baker walks in. 22 from 14. 318/9 | ||||||||
LS Baker | not out | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
Extras | (b 4, lb 4, w 19, nb 2) | 29 | ||||||
Total | (all out; 48.1 overs) | 319 | (6.62 runs per over) |
Fall of wickets1-65 (Gayle, 9.3 ov), 2-100 (Morton, 15.5 ov), 3-151 (Sarwan, 24.6 ov), 4-188 (DJ Bravo, 31.5 ov), 5-224 (Chanderpaul, 35.4 ov), 6-241 (DM Bravo, 38.3 ov), 7-250 (Taylor, 39.3 ov), 8-294 (Bernard, 44.5 ov), 9-318 (Benn, 47.4 ov), 10-319 (Ramdin, 48.1 ov) |
Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |||
RP Singh | 7 | 0 | 44 | 1 | 6.28 | (1nb, 3w) | ||
47.4 to Benn, Clatter! Full in length, moves in, Benn goes for the leg side, has a big swing but missed it completely. Baker walks in. 22 from 14. 318/9 | ||||||||
A Nehra | 7.1 | 1 | 49 | 3 | 6.83 | (1nb, 2w) | ||
9.3 to Gayle, Nehra gets the big wicket of Chris Gayle in his comeback game. It was short in length and Gayle went for the pull but mistimed it wide of mid-on where Harbhajan ran to his left to take a neat catch. 65/1 44.5 to Bernard, Bernard walks down the track and swings it powerfully to deep midwicket boundary and Rohit, who was a few metres inside the boundary, had to retreat and he lunged back to hold on to a good catch. 294/8 48.1 to Ramdin, And India win the game by 20 runs. Ramdin went for the big hit over mid-off but couldn't clear the cordon. Harbhajan Singh takes the catch at mid-off and hugs Yuvraj. Fine effort from West Indies to come close but no cigar. India might wonder how it go so close in the end despite the absence of any top-order batsmen or any power hitters. The wides and the numerous deliveries on and outside the leg stump would have made Dhoni lose some more hair. | ||||||||
I Sharma | 5 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 7.60 | (1w) | ||
31.5 to DJ Bravo, high full toss, Bravo edges the attempted pull to cover where Rohit Sharma catches the ball and throws at the non-striker's end. It was above waist-high and Bravo was expecting it to be called a no-ball. Perhaps, that's what Rohit also thought as he went for the run out. But the umpires have ruled Bravo out. No no-ball signal came and Bravo walked off unhappily. His young brother walks in. 188/4 | ||||||||
RA Jadeja | 7 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 4.85 | |||
YK Pathan | 8 | 0 | 56 | 3 | 7.00 | (4w) | ||
15.5 to Morton, slightly short on middle and spinning down leg, Morton tries to tickle that fine but it goes straight to the keeper Dhoni who appeals for caught-behind and wins the umpire's approval, Morton wasn't happy there, we'll need replays to confirm what happened. It seems to have gone off the thigh pad 100/2 35.4 to Chanderpaul, But he has holed out to deep midwicket now. Chanderpaul moved down the track, Yusuf bowled on his legs and its flicked straight to the fielder. 224/5 39.3 to Taylor, skidded on from short of length towards the middle stump, Taylor went for the big pull, missed and was caught in front. 250/7 | ||||||||
Harbhajan Singh | 10 | 0 | 56 | 1 | 5.60 | (3w) | ||
38.3 to DM Bravo, Darren looked to step out but the bowler shortened the length and he top edged the pull to RP at deep midwicket. 99 from 69 balls. Just four wickets in hand. 241/6 | ||||||||
Yuvraj Singh | 4 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 8.50 | |||
Match details |
Toss India, who chose to bat Series India led the 4-match series 1-0 |
ODI debut DM Bravo (West Indies) Player of the match Yuvraj Singh (India) |
Umpires NJ Llong (England) and NA Malcolm TV umpire CE Mack Match referee BC Broad (England) Reserve umpire C Fletcher |
Match notes |
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West Indies v India, 1st ODI, Kingston, pics,photos,wall papers
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West Indies v India, 1st ODI, Kingston - India snatch high-scoring thriller
India 339 for 6 (Yuvraj 131, Karthik 67) beat West Indies 319 (Chanderpaul 63) by 20 runs
Yuvraj Singh made up for the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina with an explosive century, allaying fears of weakness in the Indian batting order, and led his team to a hard-fought win in the first one-day international against West Indies in Kingston. His 131 from 102 balls, which contributed to a substantial partnership with Dinesh Karthik, helped India recover from a shaky start to post a match-winning total of 339 on a pitch and outfield which were on the slower side.
West Indies chased manfully but none of their batsmen combined aggression with longevity, a blend that made Yuvraj's innings so devastating, and one that is a necessity while chasing a target of such proportions. Three of their best batsmen - Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul - made fiery starts but fell at inopportune moments, causing the innings to hit a speed breaker when it needed a batsman to bat at full throttle but stay the distance. As a result, India were always marginally ahead of the game, if only by a hair's breadth at times, and even though the lower-order caused India's bowlers and fielders to palpitate, West Indies fell 20 runs short.
25 overs West Indies 151 for 3 (Chanderpaul 17*) need another 189 runs to beat India 339 for 6
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
West Indies made promising progress in their difficult chase, reaching 151 for 3 at the half-way stage, despite the inability of their batsmen to convert quick starts into long and damaging innings, like Yuvraj Singh did for India. Chris Gayle, Runako Morton and Ramnaresh Sarwan made useful contributions but their untimely dismissals left Shivnarine Chanderpaul with a lot to do, as West Indies needed 189 runs off the last 25 overs to win the first ODI against India at Sabina Park.
India's fast bowlers got little movement with the new ball on a slow track and Gayle began in customary fashion, clouting the fourth ball from RP Singh to the midwicket boundary. He did most of the early scoring, pulling again through midwicket, this time of Ashish Nehra, before lofting RP Singh's length deliveries for a four and a six over mid-off. No matter what the target - and 340 is a stiff one - West Indies were always in contention while Gayle was at the crease. That hope, though, was snuffed out when Gayle top-edged a pull from Nehra and was caught by Harbhajan Singh at mid-on for 37.
Morton attempted to fill the void left by Gayle. He had taken six balls to get off the mark and focused on rotating strike but stepped up after his captain's departure. He helped steer West Indies to 70 for 1 after ten overs, lofting the left-arm spin off Ravindra Jadeja over wide long-on for six. He and Sarwan had begun a promising partnership when Morton was given caught down the leg side, for 42, off Yusuf Pathan when the ball appeared to have come off the thigh pad.
West Indies suddenly had one brand new, and another relatively new, batsman at the crease and Sarwan took on the responsibility of maintaining a brisk run-rate. He used his feet superbly to the spinners, getting to the pitch of the ball before smacking Yusuf and Harbhajan over the long-off and long-on boundaries. With Chanderpaul playing a supporting role to Sarwan, who lofted Yuvraj Singh over the straight boundary with a languid drive, West Indies kept abreast with the asking-rate. However, they were jolted on the stroke of half-time when Sarwan was run out while attempting an unnecessary second run. That wicket tilted the balance in India's favour and West Indies will need someone to stay the distance if they are to challenge the target.
50 overs India 339 for 6 (Yuvraj 131, Karthik 67) v West Indies
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
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Related Links Player/Officials: Chris Gayle | Dinesh Karthik | Ramnaresh Sarwan | Yuvraj Singh Matches: West Indies v India at Kingston Series/Tournaments: India tour of West Indies Teams: India | West Indies |
Yuvraj Singh, by himself, made up for the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina with an explosive century, allaying fears of weakness in the Indian batting order. His 131 from 102 balls, which included a substantial partnership with Dinesh Karthik, helped India recover from a shaky start to post 339 in the first one-day international against West Indies, on a pitch and outfield which were on the slower side.
A total of such proportions, though, seemed unattainable on evidence of how India batted at the start of their innings. That familiar bugbear of Indian batsmen - the short ball - began to undo the top order once again before the 135-run stand between Yuvraj and Karthik, which had shaky beginnings, gave the innings direction. India's dominance was so untested during the period when Yuvraj was approaching his hundred that West Indies did well to restrict the score to 339, relatively speaking, after India were 253 for 3 in 38.1 overs when Yuvraj was dismissed.
Jerome Taylor was part of the attack that exploited India's ineptness against the rising delivery during the World Twenty20 and he resorted to the approach once again despite the Sabina Park pitch being far slower than the one at Lord's. He hurried the batsmen with pace, beat them with seam movement, and proved extremely hard to score off during his first spell by giving nothing to drive or cut. Unfortunately for West Indies, the pressure Taylor created dissipated because there was none forthcoming from the other end with Lionel Baker, Dwayne Bravo and David Bernard unable to bowl economically.
India started briskly, moving on to 25 in the fifth over, before Taylor unsettled Gautam Gambhir with a 92mph delivery from round the wicket that hurried the left-hander and cramped him for room. Gambhir's attempt to hook was feeble and one hand came off the bat as he top-edged a catch to midwicket. Rohit Sharma fell soon after, pulling a less ferocious ball from Baker to Dwayne Bravo at deep square leg.
The run-rate slowed as Karthik, opening in Sehwag's absence, and Yuvraj attempted to rebuild the innings from 32 for 2. Both struggled early on: Karthik was cut in half by an incutter from Baker while Yuvraj was constantly beaten by short of length deliveries that seamed across him. The moment the ball was full, though, the batsmen took advantage: Karthik drove Dwayne Bravo's first ball to the extra-cover boundary and Yuvraj, despite being beaten several times outside off, was able to put away Baker's full offering to the point fence.
West Indies missed an opportunity to run out Karthik when he was on 34 and the batsmen gradually grew in confidence as the danger in the bowling reduced. Karthik added Twenty20 flavour to the sedate pace of 50-over cricket by reaching his half-century with his own version of the Dilshan - a scoop that carried all the way for six over fine leg - against Bernard. He tried it again, on 67, but this time he was undone by Bernard's subtle change of pace and scooped a catch to the wicketkeeper.
The momentum swung violently towards India in two phases, the first of which was when the spinners came on after the 20th over. Yuvraj attacked Suleimann Benn and Chris Gayle, pulling and slog-sweeping them thrice over the midwicket boundary. India, largely through Yuvraj, who also feasted on Bernard's full deliveries on leg stump, scored 70 runs between overs 20 and 27.
The second period of acceleration was during the batting Powerplay, taken in the 34th over, following a dormant period after Karthik's dismissal. India began the five-over spell on 191 for 3 and Yuvraj set the tone by carving Baker to the cover boundary off the second ball of fielding restrictions. He then proceeded to launch sixes over cover and midwicket to take 16 runs off the over.
Gayle turned to his best bowler, hoping for a repeat performance, but Yuvraj tore into Taylor's second spell, flicking him twice off the pads for four, and hitting him for sixes over cover, midwicket and long-on. MS Dhoni, who had been content with giving Yuvraj strike, also went after Taylor, shoveling a six down the ground. Taylor's two-over spell cost 37 runs and India scored 62 off the Powerplay. Taylor never recovered from the onslaught and bowled a wayward final spell to finish with 1 for 74 after conceding only 16 off his first five overs.
West Indies appeared hapless against Yuvraj until Dwayne Bravo found the edge of his bat as he tried to glance towards fine leg. Bravo raised hopes of a fightback by dismissing Ravindra Jadeja first ball but useful innings from Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan ahd Harbhajan Singh steered India past 300. It was only the second time that the landmark had been overhauled in ODIs in Jamaica, and judging by the excitement from their fans at Sabina Park, the disappointment of India's World Twenty20 exit had been momentarily forgotten.
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West Indies v India, 1st ODI, Kingston -Yuvraj and Karthik lead India's revival
25 overs India 143 for 2 (Yuvraj 58*, Karthik 57*) v West Indies
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Related Links Player/Officials: Dinesh Karthik | Yuvraj Singh Matches: West Indies v India at Kingston Series/Tournaments: India tour of West Indies Teams: India | West Indies |
That familiar bugbear of Indian batsmen - the short ball - began to undo the top order once again in Jamaica before a partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Yuvraj Singh built a sound platform in the first one-day international against West Indies. India's revival was nervous early on but by the halfway stage the batsmen were dominant and Yuvraj was beginning to reach his six-hitting best.
Jerome Taylor, who was part of the attack that exploited India's ineptness against the rising delivery during the World Twenty20, resorted to the approach once again despite the Sabina Park pitch being far slower than the one at Lord's. He hurried the batsmen with pace, beat them with seam movement, and proved extremely hard to score off by giving the batsmen nothing to drive or cut. Unfortunately for West Indies, the pressure Taylor created dissipated because there was none forthcoming from the other end with Lionel Baker, Dwayne Bravo and David Bernard unable to bowl economically.
India started briskly, moving on to 25 in the fifth over, before Taylor unsettled Gautam Gambhir with a 92mph delivery from round the wicket that hurried the left-hander and cramped him for room. Gambhir's attempt to hook was feeble and one hand came off the bat as he top-edged a catch to midwicket. Rohit Sharma fell soon after, pulling a less ferocious ball from Baker to Dwayne Bravo at deep square leg.
The run-rate slowed as Karthik, opening in Virender Sehwag's absence, and Yuvraj attempted to rebuild the innings from 32 for 2 on a pitch where the ball did not come on to the bat. Both batsmen struggled early on: Karthik was cut in half by an incutter from Baker while Yuvraj was constantly beaten by short of length deliveries that seamed across him. The moment the ball was full, though, the batsmen took advantage: Karthik drive Dwayne Bravo's first ball to the extra cover boundary and Yuvraj, despite being beaten several times outside off, was able to put away Baker's full offering to the point fence.
West Indies missed an opportunity to run out Karthik when he was on 34 and the batsmen gradually grew in confidence as the danger in the bowling reduced. Karthik added Twenty20 flavour to the sedate pace of 50-over cricket by reaching his half-century with his own version of the Dilshan - a scoop that carried all the way for six over fine leg - against Bernard.
Yuvraj also reached his half-century, racing to it with a flurry of sixes over midwicket against the spin of Suleimann Benn and Chris Gayle whenever they were too full or too shot. The West Indies fielding began to fray against the attack and India were in a prime position to take a firm grip on the gamePosted in India vs West Indies, India vs West Indies news, India vs West Indies score, India vs West Indies videos, live India vs West Indies match by LOVE | 0 comments
India in West Indies 2009 - Gayle cautious against weakened India
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Related Links News : We're looking to rebound - Gayle Player/Officials: Chris Gayle | Ramnaresh Sarwan Series/Tournaments: India tour of West Indies | ICC World Twenty20 Teams: India | West Indies |
West Indies captain Chris Gayle has said he is not underestimating the Indians despite the visitors fielding an understrength team for the four-match ODI series in Jamaica and St Lucia.
Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan have opted for rest while Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina failed to make the short tour due to injury concerns. Looking ahead, Gayle said India's poor showing in the ICC World Twenty20 - they failed to win any of their Super Eight games - would have no bearing on the forthcoming ODIs. West Indies reached the semi-finals before crashing out to the Sri Lankans but Gayle insisted it was too early to jump the gun and pick a favourite.
"It is never a walkover against India," Gayle told PTI. "There are a lot of guys still there to give us a lot of trouble, so we just have to stick to the game plan and make it a successful one."
Gayle's team-mate Ramnaresh Sarwan also agreed. "The Indians are a very good one-day team and while they may be without a couple of their players, they will prove to be a handful for us," Sarwan said. "But we are in good form and have confidence in our abilities and hopefully, beginning Friday, we can get a good start to the series."
The Indians haven't had the best of fortunes in the Caribbean over the last few years. In 2006, they were comprehensively beaten 4-1 before crashing out of the World Cup in the first round the following year.
West Indies also announced changes to their one-day side for the first two games, the most notable casualty being their in-form bowler Fidel Edwards who's nursing a back injury.
"There are a few changes in the squad, there is Darren Bravo and [Narsingh] Deonarine coming in and it is a good opportunity for them to play an important part against India," Gayle said.
Despite bowing out of the semi-finals, Gayle was happy with his team's comeback after a lacklustre start to the tour, which included a Test and ODI series defeat to England.
"It was a pretty decent performance. We tried our best but in the end it was not to be," Gayle said. "But I am not disheartened. In fact, I am proud of the guys, as at the championship, not many were expecting us to reach that far.
"The aim was to bring home the trophy and make everyone happy, especially the fans. Having said that, however, it was a wonderful experience, one that I think will serve the team well going into the future and one that should serve us well when we host the next World Twenty20 Championship here in the Caribbean."
Meanwhile, three Indian players - M Vijay, S Badrinath and Abhishek Nayar - are yet to depart for the West Indies as they are awaiting their UK transit visas. "They will get their visas today and are set to leave tonight (Monday)," a BCCI source told PTI. "They are scheduled to reach Jamaica by tomorrow evening local time."
The series begins on Friday at Sabina Park.
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