BRIAN LARA - DOUBTFUL AHEAD OF THURSDAY'S GAME AGAINST INDIA

West Indies captain Brian Lara is a major doubt for Thursday's Champions Trophy game against hosts India.

The veteran left-hander struggled with back spasms while batting in the win over Australia last week and will have a late fitness Test in Ahmedabad.

"I'm not totally sure yet. I trained for the first time on Tuesday and pulled up a bit sore," he explained.

"Things didn't look too good. I'm sure the correct decision will be taken and not one which will disable the team."

Lara added: "I'm sure we have 11 players that can do a job and as a team we're well placed not to worry about any one or two individuals.

Both teams won their opening games - India saw off England in the first match of the main group stage - but Lara's men have held the upper hand in recent meetings."

They won 4-1 in their one-day series in the Caribbean and also qualified for the tri-series final in Malaysia at the Indians' expense.

"The guys are fully aware our record against India this year has been very impressive," Lara explained.

"We don't see playing in India's backyard as a hindrance - in fact it's something that can catapult us even further forward and give us a greater psychological advantage over India.

"If things go well, we could be meeting them at a crucial stage in next year's World Cup so this match is huge.

"We feel comfortable and are improving as a team - I'm sure people will see an even better performance on Thursday."

India captain Rahul Dravid insists previous results will have little bearing on the outcome.

"It's a new game and a new tournament," he insisted.

"We haven't had a great run against them, but I don't think the past has much to do with what can happen.

"They seem to have some key players in form but we're also not very far from that. We can get back to the kind of consistency and performance we showed a little while back.

"It's just a question of a few more players getting back into the kind of groove they were in."

Among India's main concerns are the batting problems Dravid and some of his team-mates have had.

The skipper has not hit a half century in his last 10 limited-overs internationals, while Virender Sehwag's last five ODI innings have yielded 37 runs.

"If you look at it with perspective, we're not the only team that goes through ups and downs," Dravid added.

"Australia are the only team in the last decade to maintain a high level of consistency - it's about bouncing back and getting your key players in form.

"The good players and successful ones adapt to anything. That's a great challenge and hopefully we can rise to that."