'There is no easy game now' - Dhoni

Having had an easy first round, India will begin the Super Eights in confident mood against much tougher opposition. They will be up against West Indies on Friday at Lord's, followed by England and South Africa, and captain MS Dhoni has said the only difference now will be how his players cope with the high-pressure moments, which he thinks will be the norm as the tournament progresses.

"There is no easy game now. And in a crucial game, the only difference is how you cope with pressure," Dhoni said after the team's optional practice session that lasted about two hours and was attended by only five members. The rest of the squad decided to take it easy after the journey from Nottingham where India easily defeated Ireland in their last game on Wednesday.

West Indies may have lost their last match against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge but Dhoni said the opposition had a lot of big hitters in their ranks who could demoralise the bowlers. "[Chris] Gayle, [Dwayne] Bravo, [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul, [Ramnaresh] Sarwan can all hit big. But our bowlers are experienced too and will need to bowl tight," Dhoni said.

Gayle, who sat out of the Sri Lanka game recovering from a leg injury, is likely to be back in action at Lord's tomorrow and would be the prime target of the Indian bowlers. "You don't need to plan too much for him [Gayle] as you can't have a field positioned outside the ropes," Dhoni pointed out, whne asked what was the best way to keep Gayle quiet. "He will always fancy taking risks, so we should not give him the space."

West Indies had one win and a loss in the previous round with Gayle masterminding the thrashing of Australia in the opening game, with 4.1 overs to spare. But yesterday, their bowlers were punished heavily by the Sri Lankan opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan as West Indies fell short by 15 runs despite a spirited display from Dwayne Bravo.

Dhoni, though, is still wary of the dangerous West Indies. "They have bowlers who clock 140kph and at the same time use the slower ball effectively. Potentially they are a good side, so we can expect a good game," he said.

Dhoni agreed that India would miss the services of the injured Virender Sehwag, who was forced out of the event by a nagging shoulder injury which he picked in the IPL and aggravated in the last week. "But Rohit Sharma has picked up well and we are happy with his form," he said.

The Indian captain is likely to stick with two spinners, a move which he felt was proving effective in the Twenty20 format where the slow bowlers can restrict the run-flow as well as take wickets with their variety.

West Indies opted out of a training session today as they arrived late in the afternoon from Nottingham, deciding instead to have a gym and pool session at the team hotel. The team's media spokesperson said Gayle's recovery is on track and he is expected to return to the field tomorrow.