Expect an upset, says Hooper

West Indies captain Carl Hooper was in bullish mood on Friday ahead of Saturday's one-day triangular final against India in Harare.

India beat the West Indies in both their group games of a tournament, which also involved Zimbabwe, and go into the game as firm favourites. But Hooper was adamant his side will turn the form book on its head.

"I think we'll upset the applecart -- I think we'll win," Hooper said after nets at the Harare Sports Club.

"This is not the best Indian one-day team I have played against. They miss the pace of someone like Javagal Srinath, but they are a good side -- they'll have a lot of good players out there.

"It's a big bonus for us making this final and although the last two performances against India were a disappointment, tomorrow is a one-off game and if we play well, we'll win," Hooper said.

The West Indies captain pinpointed his batsmen's sluggish run-rate in the early overs as an area of concern, particularly when compared to the explosive batting of the Indian top order.

"We've been batting a bit too slowly in the early overs. Against this Indian side on these sort of tracks we need to be somewhere up around five an over and posting at least 250.

INDIA FLYING

"Having said that, we really haven't been bowling well either. India have been getting off to fliers and setting up the game in the first 15 overs, and that has been disappointing.

"Basically it just comes down a case of us having to bat and bowl well," Hooper said.

The early start times for games in the triangular series have placed an unusually high emphasis on the toss, with bowlers frequently assisted in the early overs as Zimbabwe's winter sun burns off overnight moisture.

Hooper said that if he could break Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's four-match streak of toss wins, he would probably give his bowlers a chance to make early inroads into the opposition's top order.

"We would probably bowl first if we won the toss," Hooper said.

"Batting after lunch or later in the day seems really easy. If the ball is going to do anything, it does it in the first 15 overs and then flattens out. So it's probably worth letting the quicks have a go and see if we can nip Sachin Tendulkar out early," he said.

Tendulkar has scored 282 runs in the tournament and been dismissed just once, although it was only during his century against the West Indies on Wednesday that he began to look in prime form.

With Tendulkar at his best, the Indian batting hardly needs any reinforcing. But they are likely to find a place in the top order for VVS Laxman, who has recovered from a bruised finger sustained while taking a slip catch earlier in the tournament.

Mail Cricket Editor