Ponting ... pressure is on India.

BANGALORE, India (Reuters):

AUSTRALIA SKIPPER Ricky Ponting warned India that the pressure would be on them in their seven-match one-day series starting tomorrow, despite their Twenty20 World Cup glory.

India upset Test and one-day champions Australia in the semi-finals and then Pakistan in Monday's final in South Africa, triggering non-stop celebrations in their cricket-mad nation.

Ponting was among three players who suffered hamstring strains during the tournament. He will miss at least the first game in Bangalore tomorrow.

However, he was combative at a news conference.

Will be competitive

"They thoroughly deserve to come back as champions but that's finished now," he said. "We know we have to really play well in the sub-continent.

"If anything now, the pressure is probably going to come back on the Indians," he said. "The expectations will be upon them at the moment, coming back as the world champions, and we've all seen what has happened since they have been back in India.

"India are the world Twenty20 champions, we're the Test and the world 50-over champions and we've 50-over cricket coming up.

"I wouldn't begin to get too carried away with the Twenty20 if I were you."

Ponting praised the energy of a young Indian Twenty20 squad in the absence of the senior trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly who had opted out.

"The one thing that stood out for all of us, looking at the Indian team throughout the Twenty20, was the amount of youthfulness they had in the team."