Stand-in skipper Adam Gilchrist said here on Friday that the Australians have put behind the stumbling run in the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, and they were firmly focused on the seven-match series against India, beginning here on Saturday.

“We are really excited about this tour. We had some experience in the form of Twenty20 and that is finished now. We had enough time for preparations before coming to this tour.  We know the conditions here well and we are ready for this series,” Gilchrist said.

“We have got a very good side. We have six changes since the World Cup final. There were some retirments, injuries and babies being born. We got to see new faces.  Many are youngsters and they haven’t seen a lot of cricket and are not experienced. but we have got a side that is well placed,” the left-handed opener added.

The Western Australian, however, said they were expecting India to come hard at them in the series.

“There has been a number of threats. We lost to India in the semifinals of the Twenty20. They had great passion and great  energy. We expect them to come at us hard, and that is going to be a great challenge,” he said.

Gilchrist also downplayed the war of words between players from both the sides. “It’s not a plan to get verbal.

We know a few of the Indian fast bowlers will continue to be aggressive, as they had did in the semifinals. It is fine, and if there is no fire in the belly as a fast bowler, they cannot succeed. But we have to back it up with good cricket just as India did it in the Twenty20,” he said.

Gilchrist said the series was a good chance for the young Australian players to make a mark at the top level cricket.

“Over the years we have shown that we have great reserve strength. We believe that we have a team out there that can win the game tomorrow, provided we play with our skill level which is on par with anybody else in the world. We keep trying to bring in new members to the squad and train them after the World Cup. Tim Neilsen is very well versed in this regard,” he said.

On the status of injured Ricky Ponting, the regular skipper who picked up a hamstring injury in the game against Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup on September 18, Gilchrist said, “He is well and he will play a part in the series. We are not 100 per cent sure, but he was very close to playing tomorrow. He has made great progress and I am not saying it to the Indian team, but to his fans that you will see Ricky Ponting in this tour.”

Gilchrist said there was no extra pressure on him due to captaincy. “There is no pressure on me, especially with this kind of atmosphere. But I will always want to give it back to Ricky,” he said.