Bested in the Twenty20 World Cup, revenge-thirsty India would come down hard on West Indies in the forthcoming ODI series, believes home side captain Chris Gayle.
West Indies not only beat India in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup but also laid bare their frailty against rising deliveries which was exploited well by England.
Gayle believes the side under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however depleted, would seek to settle score in the four-match ODI series starting here on Friday.
"We have a big game on Friday against India. We're all looking forward to it," Gayle said.
"India is always a good One Day team and they will be looking to beat us based on their Twenty20 disappointment," he added.
Gayle said even though India would be without star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the bunch is still good enough to make life miserable for the hosts.
"Sehwag and Tendulkar are two world class players but they still have quality players to step up and they have a lot of experience in one day cricket.
"They still have quality players in Yuvraj (Singh), Harbhajan Singh, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, (Ishant) Sharma and a lot of guys to give us a lot of trouble," Gayle said.
"So it's not a situation where we will say it's a walkover. It's never a walkover against India," he added.
Having led the side to the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup, Gayle said he was happy with the support from all quarters.
"The support has been brilliant. The guys gave me their full support and I gave them the same sort of support and respect which they deserve. It's been enjoyable.
"Captaining the West Indies has done a lot for me individually and I'm really happy and grateful to be captaining West Indies and the entire region," Gayle said.
"It's a privilege and hopefully I can continue from strength to strength and give everyone something to cheer about.
Hopefully we can wrap up this series and am looking forward for a lot of things," Gayle said.
