Adrian Frater, News Editor

Sachin Tendulkar (left) and Sourav Ganguly (right) are all smiles on their arrival at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on Thursday night.

Western Bureau:

In less than 20 minutes, the Indian cricket team, the first team to arrive in Jamaica for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, was in and out of Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, where they arrived via Air Jamaica at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

"Absolutely no interviews, just videos and still pictures, guys," said head of airport security, Norman Tomlinson, as photographers jostled for position in the narrow passageway of the airport's customs hall. "I hope you know how to walk backwards because you need to move quickly."

Fully focused

From the large glass window inside the upstairs customs hall, the Air Jamaica plane emerged out of the dark, rolling slowly along the tarmac towards the building. As it came to a stop, the boarding gate was attached almost instantaneously.

Within minutes, the first of the Indian players, lanky spinner Anil Kumble, emerged from the boarding gate. The no-nonsense look on his face left little doubt that the team from the sub-continent, which had surprised the West Indies team in the 1983 final, was fully focused.

While coach Greg Chappell, who appeared next, got little more than a cursory glance from the media, the cameras started popping like crazy when star batsman Sachin Tendullar and former skipper Sourav Ganguly emerged with broad smiles on their faces.

It was all excitement as they engaged in an animated discussion as they walked leisurely along the passageway.

In contrast to Ganguly and Tendulkar, skipper Rahul Dravid, with a red bag slung over his left shoulder, walked alone, paying very little attention to what was going on around him. His intense look remained unchanged as he went straight into the Jamaica Tours bus, took a seat and closed his eyes.

Tendulkar, who sat in the front section of the bus, seemed quite relaxed as he flashed his trademark smile and gave the thumbs up to a member of the Indian press, who waved gleefully at him as the bus pulled out of the parking lot.

The Indians are slated to practice at Jarrett Park today.