India capable of winning in England: Dev

India have the potential to win the upcoming test series against England and claim their first overseas success in over 16 years, former skipper Kapil Dev said on Wednesday.

"I hope they win. They have the capability and they should believe in themselves," said the former all-rounder The first of the four Tests against England starts at Lords next Thursday.

India, a potent force on slow pitches at home, have struggled overseas and have gone without a Test series win outside south Asia since Dev's side won 2-0 in England in 1985-86.

Dev cautioned Saurav Ganguly's team not to get carried away by their victory over England in the final of the triangular series on Saturday.

"That is history, the entire focus should now be on the Tests," he said.

India achieved the second highest successful run-chase in one-day history to overhaul England's total of 325 and send millions of fans in the cricket-crazy country into a frenzy.

The victory and Mohammad Kaif's match-winning innings of 87 not out continued to dominate Indian newspapers three days later.

Indian hopes have also soared for next year's World Cup, which is taking place in South Africa from February 8 to March 23.

But Dev, who led India to their only World Cup triumph in 1983, warned against unrealistic expectations.

"The performance was very good, but winning one series is not enough," he said. "Too much expectation has been created. The World Cup is eight months away, give them time."

(C) 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similiar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.