Pietersen: No excuses for failure

Few would blame England if they were badly beaten in the series, which begins at the Chepauk Stadium on Thursday, after their preparation was severely disrupted by a spell at home following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai as the team considered the security implications of their return.

Pietersen, though, sets high standards and said: "You could say we can't lose in this situation, but that's also a way of looking at things negatively and finding excuses - I don't want any excuses about what has happened."

He added: "There is to be no nonsense said about what has happened. I told the boys this morning that it's a case of coming to this Test match series like it would be in England.

"We travelled on Monday, we'll practise on Tuesday and Wednesday and play on Thursday. What has happened has happened and we can't control it, but we're in a very privileged position to be playing Test match cricket in India and we've got to deal with it in a professional manner."

Pietersen and the rest of the squad attempted to halt the endless talk about security on Tuesday by issuing a joint statement following a team meeting when they pledged to donate half their match fees from the opening Test - around £35,000 - to a fund to help the families affected by the Mumbai attacks.

They also underlined their desire to help the Indian people through their healing period, but above all they want to atone for a dismal start to their winter - defeat in the Stanford showdown and in the five one-day internationals against India - by delivering a performance in these two Tests.

"The main focus now is definitely on the Test series," Pietersen insisted.

"It hasn't been a great start to the winter, there's been so much that's happened in the last six weeks and it's now a case of getting on and concentrating on the cricket.

"We need to chuck everything away that's happened in that six weeks to make sure that now our primary goal and focus is to try and win this Test match series."