India captain Mithali Raj believes her team can carry forward its winning momentum from last year's Asia Cup into the upcoming quadrangular series in Chennai.
But she feels world champions Australia remain a real threat to that momentum along with England and New Zealand in the four-cornered event.
India won the Asia Cup in December, going unbeaten through the tournament against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and Raj feels that form will stand her side is good stead in the upcoming series.
"We played good competitive cricket in the last tournament and I think if we carry forward the same impetus, we stand a very good chance of doing even better in this competition," said the 24 year-old Raj, who is already a veteran of eight Tests and 86 one-day internationals.
"The quadrangular series is the toughest series after the World Cup and every team will be well prepared. But I think Australia remains the team to beat because of the professionalism and approach they bring with them," she added.
India will obviously benefit from the tournament taking place on home soil and that is important because its track record at home has been far more impressive than its performance on the road.
Besides its Asia Cup triumph in Jaipur last December that earned it a hat-trick of titles, India beat England 4-1 in a five-match series in December 2005 and also drew the one-off Test against the same opponents.
And although India lost the seven-match ODI series against Australia 4-3 in December 2004, the matches were far closer than the results suggest.
Contrast that form with India's efforts overseas.
In July 2002, India won just one game in the tri-series against hosts England and New Zealand, before losing five games out of six in the last edition of quadrangular series, in February 2003 in New Zealand.
India did better in the women's World Cup in South Africa where it lost the final to Australia by 98 runs but it lost a five-match ODI series 4-1 to New Zealand in March 2006.
It also lost every match of a three-game ODI series to Australia in February 2006 and went down by an innings and four runs in a one-off Test against the same opponents.
But rather than focus on that travel sickness, Raj prefers, quite rightly, to look at the task at hand, in front of home fans.
"Our improved performance at home has much to do with the home conditions and the home crowd which has been very supportive," she said.
"But we are a team that is gradually improving and if we manage to combine our individual brilliance then we can be a very dangerous side.
"We have to pounce on every opportunity that comes our way. The other three competitors have a rich history and experience behind them, and the only way to do better against them is to capitalize on every opportunity which surely will come our way," Raj added.
The captain, who can boast a score of 214 against England in a Test match, believes every match before the 2009 ICC women's World Cup in Australia is vital the team's build-up and preparations.
"Every match we play before then is important," she said.
"It provides us an opportunity to assess our preparations and progress. Basically we are a team in transition and trying to gain experience with each match," she added.
"I believe this is the best that is happening to women's cricket in India that the top three teams are coming here. No only we will get an opportunity to learn from their experiences, but women's cricket in India will get a significant boost.
"Cricket is the flavour of the season and I am hoping we all will benefit from it," Raj said.
Raj pointed out 16-year-old left-handed opener Thirush Kamini as the player to watch for in the competition.
"I have no doubt that she is a future star. She is immensely talented and a hard working girl. I know how eagerly she is waiting for the series to start because she will be playing in front of her home crowd," Raj said.
Kamini made headlines in the Asia Cup, her debut series, in which she walked away with the Player of the Tournament award following a brilliant all-round performance that saw her score 135 runs and take eight wickets with her leg-spin.
As for Raj, in her spare time an expert at Indian classical dance, she will be hoping to use her feet to get into position to score freely against opposition bowling over the next two weeks.
The quadrangular series will be played in Chennai between 21 February and 5 March with each team playing the three other line-ups twice each. India opens its campaign against England.
Fixtures:
Feb 21 England Women v India Women
Feb 21 Australia Women v New Zealand Women
Feb 23 Australia Women v India Women
Fri 23 England Women v New Zealand Women
Feb 25 Australia Women v England Women
Feb 25 India Women v New Zealand Women
Feb 28 Australia Women v New Zealand Women
Feb 28 England Women v India Women
Mar 1 Australia Women v England Women
Mar 1 India Women v New Zealand Women
Mar 3 11th Match - Australia Women v India Women
Mar 3 12th Match - England Women v New Zealand Women
Mar 5 3rd place Play-Off
Mon 5 Final
