Thursday, September 14 2006 12:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kuala Lumpur: Indian captain Rahul Dravid Wednesday (13 Sep, 2006) asks his teammates to get into the groove quickly and not allow lack of match practice to be an excuse for failure in the DLF Cup cricket tri-series.

Dravid says it is important to start the series on a winning note, as a consistent show right through the tournament would help the team for the upcoming Champions Trophy.

"The two other teams are good, so we have to get our act together very quickly. We are going to play our best," Dravid says on the eve of their opening match against the West Indies.

The Karnataka batsman says his players are starved of competitive cricket after the washout of the tri-series in Sri Lanka and are now keen to utilise the current tournament fully.

"In Sri Lanka it was a complete washout. We are raring to play after so much training. It will be a very good preparation for the Champions Trophy," he says.

Dravid says his team will try not to repeat the same mistakes, which cost them the one-day series against the West Indies in May.

"It's a new series. Lessons have to be learnt from the series we played in West Indies. But, that is behind us now and we are determined to do well. The defeat is not playing."