After Champions Trophy triumph, India only thinking of moving up: Dhoni

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said his team will only be thinking of moving in one direction, and that is "up", when taking on the West Indies and Sri Lanka in a 13-day tri-series tournament that gets underway in the West Indies from today.

Participating in captains interaction with the media here ahead of the tri-series, Dhoni said: "The expectations will pretty much remain the same when it comes to Indian cricket..if things are moving, it will only move in one direction which is up."

Dhoni, who was speaking just days after India had won the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in the United Kingdom, further said: "What is very important for us is not to look too far ahead. We will take it series by series."

"We have just finished a world tournament in the UK, and now, we are in the West Indies. First, we will have to see the two teams which are ahead of us. The performance was really good in the UK, but we need to continue."

It maybe recalled that India beat England in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy by five runs

Apart from Dhoni, West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said they were upbeat about their chances in the CELKON Mobile Cup tournament.

All three promised some exciting and entertaining cricket for Caribbean fans.

Bravo,Dhoni and Mathews pledged to bring their "A" game in the June 28 to July 11 tournament.

"It is going to be a fantastic series. We are all excited to get going. Going head-to-head with India and Sri Lanka, we know it will be a great series. We know we can expect the carnival atmosphere and that is one of the things the gets us fired up when we play at home in the Caribbean," Bravo said.

"I am looking forward to leading my team to great things and to make the people of the Caribbean proud. Playing at home is always good where we have the support of our hands," Bravo added.

Mathews, who led Sri Lanka into the semi-finals in the ICC Champions Trophy, described his side as the underdogs, but added that they would be looking to play to their strengths.

"We know we are up against two huge teams - they are the two current champions of the T20 and the 50-over World Cups. To match them we need to play some really good cricket and play to our strengths," said the allrounder, who is preparing for his 98th ODI on Friday.

"We feel like the underdogs but I think I have the team to well in this format and I have confidence in my players and my team - I am getting a lot of support from all the senior guys and the junior guys," Mathews said.

The tournament - which will feature seven matches in 13 days - bowls off on Friday when West Indies clash with Sri Lanka at Sabina Park at 8 p.m. Indian Standard Time.