Tri-Series set to begin

On the back of the Champions Trophy, West Indies, Sri Lanka and victors India have flown to the Carribbean to take part in this ODI Tri-Series. Unfortunately it does replace a test series between the home side and Sri Lanka. Nonetheless it should be a fiercely competitive series with the majority of each team's squad consisting of their Champions Trophy teams.

India are undoubtedly favourites for the tournament after their impressive winning performance in the Champions Trophy. India have also consequently extended their lead on top of the ICC Rankings to 10 points. Sri Lanka meanwhile made the semi-finals in the Champions trophy and lost to India. Their performances have been patchy of late with a 2-2 draw with Australia followed by a disappointing 1-1 draw with Bangladesh at home. They sit at #5 in the rankings and a successful tournament here could propel them into the top four for the first time in quite a while. West Indies meanwhile exited the Champions Trophy in the group stages after a win against Pakistan, a loss to India, which preceded a tie to South Africa which ultimately sealed their fate in the tournament. The West Indies have a lot of potential in the ODI format, however apart from their drubbing of Zimbabwe earlier this year, their form has been disappointing with a series loss in Bangladesh and a clean sweep in Australia occurring in the past 6-8 months. They will look to play well in front of their home fans and try and re-establish their ranking at 7th, after falling behind New Zealand.

It should be a pretty good contest and I think West Indies and Sri Lanka will be battling each other to meet India in the final.

Squads:
West Indies (Jamaica matches): Dwayne Bravo (c), T.Best, Darren Bravo, J.Charles, C.Gayle, S.Narine, K.Pollard, D.Ramdin, R.Rampaul, K.Roach, D.Sammy, M.Samuels, D.Smith

India: MS Dhoni (c), R.Ashwin, S.Dhawan, R.Jadeja, D.Karthik, V.Kohli, B.Kumar, A.Mishra, S.Raina, S.Ahmed, I.Sharma, R.Sharma, M.Vijay, V.Kumar, U.Yadav

Sri Lanka: A.Matthews (c), D.Chandimal, D.Lokuhettige, S.Eranga, R.Herath, M.Jayawardene, N.Kulasekara, L.Malinga, A.Mendis, J.Mendis, K.Perera, K.Sangakkara, S.Senanayake, U.Tharanga, L.Thirimanne

Fixtures:
28th June
West Indies v India @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

30th June
India v Sri Lanka @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

2nd July
West Indies v Sri Lanka @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

5th July
West Indies v India @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

7th July
Sri Lanka v India @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

9th July
West Indies v Sri Lanka @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

11th July
Final @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad