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Overview
India start their campaign on Friday to put the bad memory of their failure in the World Twenty20 behind them, when they face West Indies in the first One-Day International of the four-match series.
India and their opponents settle back down to the bump and grind of 50 overs-a-side matches following a heavy diet of Twenty20 cricket for several of the players in the form of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa, and the World Twenty20 in England.
But it's the World Twenty20 which is still fresh on the minds of the Indians.
They entered the competition as defending champions, and finished empty-handed, much to the chagrin of their legions of supporters at home and around the world.
They were humiliated, when they exited the competition following three defeats in the Super Eight stage, including a seven-wicket loss to the West Indies.
Tiredness and injuries were some of the factors advanced for India's demise, but they have had close to two weeks to relax and recharge the batteries.
Against this backdrop, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has asked his players to come forward and be truthful about their fitness ahead of the series.
India have also had time to beef-up their personnel for the four-match series to mitigate against the injuries which have robbed them of star batting duo Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the latter of whom was sorely missed in the World Twenty20, plus Zaheer Khan and Suresh Raina.
However, the new recruits have encountered a few difficulties with getting visas to travel through Britain.
Now ranked as the third-best ODI side in the world, India will see this as a chance to leapfrog Australia, and take aim at chart-toppers South Africa, setting the stage for another invigorating series.
India haven't played an ODI series since they prevailed in New Zealand in March, but they have lost only three of their last 18 matches, and have emerged as one of strongest ODI sides over the last year.
But they face a West Indies side with their own demons to exorcise following a miserable Test and ODI series against England.
The home team, however, marginally redeemed themselves with a semi-final place in the World Twenty20 in which they beat England to reach the final four.
They enter the series, though, as strangers in their own land, since India have been in the Jamaica capital getting down to business since last Friday, and the West Indies players - including a few fresh faces - only started arriving on Tuesday.
West Indies coach John Dyson will instruct his side to play aggressive cricket to push the Indians to the limit.
Expected Match-Winners
West Indies: As always, the West Indies can rely on their captain Chris Gayle to dig them out of any hole. Should the kingpin, however, falter at the top, the hosts will find themselves in a whole lot of calypso collapse trouble.
India: Swashbuckling Yuvraj Singh has proven time and time again that he can perform with both bat and ball and if a quick-fire innings is needed, Yuvraj is the man to turn to.
Probable Bench-Warmers
West Indies: Depending on how the first few games turn out, it's likely that some of the new faces will get a go. Should the Windies however need to muster up a come back, expect the likes of Narsingh Deonarine or David Bernard to carry the drinks.
India: With a few of their stars already being rested for this series, it's evident team management don't want to overwork the players following complaints of fatigue during the World T20. Everyone in the 16-man squad is likely to get a game although Murali Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath may find it hard to force their way into the batting line-up. If anybody should feature more on the bench than on the field it must be Ishant Sharma. The last thing India want to do is tire out or potentially injure their pace ace in a two-bit series ahead of tournaments more important.
West Indies' Last Five ODI Results India's Last Five ODI Results Last Five Head-To-Head ODI Results The Skippers' Say Prediction: Squads India: Mahendra Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Abhishek Nayar, Dinesh Karthik, Ishant Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Pragyan Ojha, Ashish Nehra. Fixtures
May 2009: Third ODI: Lost to England by 38 runs in Birmingham
May 2009: Second ODI: Lost to England by six wickets in Bristol
April 2009: Fifth ODI: Lost to England by 26 runs in Gros Islet
March 2009: Fourth ODI: Lost to England by nine wickets in Bridgetown
March 2009: Fifth ODI: Lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in Auckland
March 2009: Fourth ODI: Beat New Zealand by 84 runs in Hamilton
March 2009: Third ODI: Beat New Zealand by 58 runs in Christchurch
March 2009: First ODI: Beat New Zealand by 53 runs in Napier
February 2009: Fifth ODI: Lost to Sri Lanka by 68 runs in Colombo
January 2007: Fourth ODI: India won by 160 runs in Vadodara
January 2007: Third ODI: West Indies won by three wickets in Chennai
January 2007: Second ODI: India won by 20 runs in Cuttack
January 2007: Fourth ODI: India won by 14 runs in Nagpur
October 2006: Champions Trophy: West Indies won by three wickets in Ahmedabad
"The T20 World Cup is gone. It will be tough in the West Indies. We want to do well in West Indies and then be really well prepared for South Africa." - Mahendra Dhoni wishes to put his wretched stint in England behind him and use his latest challenge as a platform of preparation for the Champions Trophy.
India have plenty to prove after the woeful defence of their World Twenty20 crown and although they are missing Tendulkar, Zaheer, Raina and Sehwag, they still have a pretty settled side. The home side, on the other hand, continue to chop and change and you are not quite sure which team will turn up from match to match. India will probably win the series 3-1 with the Windies grabbing a consolation win on the back of a Gayle-inspired performance.
West Indies: Chris Gayle (capt), Denesh Ramdin, Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard Jr, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor
First ODI at Sabina Park in Jamaica on 26 June
Second ODI at Sabina Park in Jamaica on 28 June
Third ODI at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on 3 July
Third ODI at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on 3 July
Fourth ODI at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on 5 July
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