The Bravo brothers, regular team member Dwayne (left) and Darren, seen at a warm-up session at Sabina Park yesterday, could turn out for the West Indies in the first one-day international against India today. Dwayne is a key all-rounder in the West Indies team while Darren is a dashing 20-year-old left-handed batsman. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

If the body language of West Indies captain Christopher Gayle and his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni is anything to go by, then cricket fans who turn up at Sabina Park today and Sunday for the first two one-day internationals of the 2009 Digicel Series should be in for a treat.

Both were ozing confidence after yesterday's final press conference before the showdown, which is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. today. The captains are looking forward to the clash with high expectations, albeit with different motivations, following their performances in the just-concluded ICC World Twenty20 Championship in England.

The West Indies, who made it to the semi-final of the Championship, will be looking to carry over their form in the 50-overs version of the game and demonstrate to critics that they are on the improve, while for India, who were dethroned during quarter-final round, the aim will be to restore lost pride and confidence to their millions of fans back home.

"It's a different format of the game and, as such, we have to refocus ourselves for what should be tough India challenge," said Gayle of the four-match series.

"In England we were able show form and playing at home the hope is to capitalise on that. We have a fairly balanced squad with a blend of youth and experience and I know that once we apply ourselves tomorrow we should get the perfect start we need," he added.

Upcoming players

The showdown will see both teams parading a mix of tried and proven and new and upcoming players as they prepare for the ICC mini-world Champions Trophy, which will be held in South Africa in late September and early October.

The West Indies, who will be without injured pacer Fidel Edwards, will look to the in-form Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, who were both named to an ICC World All-Stars XI squad earlier this week, to lead from the front, while at the other end, it should be an opportunity for first-timers, 20-year-old Trinidadian Darren Bravo, 22-year-old Grenadian pacer Nelon Pascal, and 27-year-old Jamaica all-rounder DavidBernard Jr, should they get into the final eleven.

Twenty-five-year-old Guyanese batsman Narsingh Deonarine, who was the top run-getter during this year's domestic first-class season, could also get a chance to shine on the one-day stage, along with the injury-prone fast bowler Ravi Rampaul.

India, in the meantime, who will be without ace batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and opener Virender Sehwag, will look to the wicketkeeping and middle-order batting prowess of skipper Dhoni, dashing batsman Yuvraj Singh, opener Gautam Gambhir and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

A disappointment

"The Twenty20 Championship was a disappointment for us, but that is all behind us now. Our aim is to win this series and keep on improving our world rankings. We believe we have the players to do it and the hope is that the weather holds up and will be able to entertain the peoples of the region," said Dhoni.

Yesterday, both India and West Indies held training sessions on the practice pitches at Sabina Park, and if their slow nature is anything to go by it could be the same for the centre wicket, which will determine the final make-up of each team's take-the-field side.

"We will look at what the day will be like weather-wise, and what the pitch looks like before we make a final decision of the starting team," said West Indies coach, John Dyson.

Series against Bangladesh

The third and fourth one-day internationals will be played next weekend in St Lucia. The series will then be followed by two Tests, three ODIs and a T20 International series against Bangladesh.

SQUADS

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.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rudra Pratap Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik.