St John’s, May 31 :

West Indies are hoping to build on the momentum they have gained from their triumph in the preceding One-day International series, when they face India in the first of the four match Test series, starting on Friday.

“In the Test series, we know that it’s going to be a tough task to beat India, but we are going to be working really, really hard,” said West Indies skipper Brian Lara.

Lara indicated that he would advise his teammates to refocus on the virtues of Tests to ensure that West Indies does well against the tough opposition.

On the other hand, India will want to quickly forget the ODI series and justify the favourites’ tag that has been pinned upon them. “We have to regroup after losing the ODI series and fight back in the Test series,” India’s captain Rahul Dravid commented.

West Indies would want to achieve victory over the visitors to give proof that the ODI series triumph was no fluke. For India, they will want to re-focus on their main goal which is to achieve a Test series victory over the Calypso Kings for the first time in 35 years on Caribbean soil.

West Indies formed the nucleus of their side from the majority of players that featured in the ODIs series .

India have been fortified with the arrival of five players meaning that West Indies will have to find a way around the guile of Anil Kumble and Venkatsai Laxman. For both sides, the series that also features Tests at Gros Islet (June 10-14), Basseterre (June 22-26), and Kingston (June 30-July 4) is vital.

SQUADS: India: Rahul Dravid (captain), Mahendra Dhoni, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammed Kaif, Dinesh Karthik, Anil Kumble, Venkatsai Laxman, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Ramesh Powar, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Vikram Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Shantha Sreesanth.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Dave Mohammed, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.