Mohammad Kaif said he was feeling confident after his century propelled the Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI to a five-run victory over England in a warm-up match on Saturday.
"I had a good hit yesterday. I made 91 in the first Test at Nagpur and then the century in a practice game before the start of a series; it gives a lot of confidence. I am feeling good, hitting the ball well and will look to continue scoring more runs in the one-day series," said Kaif at the Ferozshah Kotla in New Delhi on Sunday.
Though the team went down to England in the third Test at Mumbai, Kaif said the morale of the team was not affected.
"Our recent success in the one-dayers will give us a lot of confidence going into this series. We will be looking to carry forward the momentum. We will look to start well and try to win the first couple of matches," he said.
India has been in great form in the shorter version of the game in the recent past. They beat Sri Lanka 6-1 at home, then drew 2-2 against the strong South African side. In their last series in Pakistan, they registered a convincing 4-1 victory.
Kaif said the team is happy with their performance and would be further aiming to develop their game, specially with a lot of one-day cricket to follow.
"We have lots of one-day matches coming up. First we have the seven matches against England in this series, then we play two matches against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and then in West Indies. So we will be looking to do well and improve our game," said Kaif.
Sachin Tendulkar had to miss out on the one-day series after he was ruled with a shoulder injury. But Kaif feels it is a good opportunity for younger players to prove themselves.
"The guys sitting out are good players. Players like Suresh Raina, Venugopal Rao and R P Singh will get a chance to prove themselves in the absence of Tendulkar. They have done well in domestic cricket and I am sure that they will grab this opportunity with both hands," the 25-year-old said.
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He also felt that there were no problems in experimenting in one-dayers since it has benefited the team.
"If the team is benefiting, then the experiments should continue. We have done well with the experiments, so I don't see any reason why you will not see it in this series. The new players also get a sense of responsibility, when you give them new challenges," said the Uttar Pradesh captain.
Kaif also tended to disagree on comments that Harbhajan Singh had lost his touch.
"Just have a look at his record in international cricket. He is a match winner. He bowled well in Mumbai and took a few important wickets.
"You can't judge him on the basis of just 3-4 matches. You have to look at his overall record and see the number of matches that he has won for India. You have to be patient and give him some time and I am sure that he will come back and be among the wickets again."
Kaif's first impression of the pitch was that it seems a good one-day track and the spectators will enjoy a good day's cricket.
India beat England in the only one-day international played between the two sides in Delhi, in January 2002.
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