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Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates are not usually associated with major cricket tournaments, but they find themselves in the exulted company of India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for this tournament held in Pakistan .

With all due respect to them, they really are only there to make up the numbers. But its still a once in a lifetime opportunity for their players to mix it with some of the biggest names in the sport.

Bangladesh are capable of causing an upset, but I believe the big three of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will dominate and one of them will win the trophy.

But which one will prevail?

Here's my take on the contenders:

Sri Lanka

Great mix of youth and experience in their squad. Old masters Jayasuria, Jayawardene, Murali, Sangakarra, Dilshan and Vaas are complimented by exciting newcomers Maharoof, Silva, Udawatte, Kapugedera and the new spin sensation Ajantha Mendis.

On paper a very strong unit. Very strong batting line-up; however on the bowling front they are missing one important player. That man is Lasith Malinga. Without him the bowling is significantly weakened, especially as Vaas is not as consistent as he used to be and Murali, relatively speaking, has not been as effective against India and Pakistan as he has against other teams.

In recent head to heads, they have lost 10 out of last 14 completed games against India and 9 out of last 13 against Pakistan .

Sri have done well in recent years in both formats of the game, but in the Asian cricket stakes, they remain 3rd best, and I expect them to be 3rd best again in this tournament.

Pakistan

Home advantage could be a major factor; they used to the Lahore and Karachi pitches where this tournament is predominantly held.

However they are going through a transition under new captain Shoaib Malik and have been inconsistent of late. Main problem has been a steady opening partnership and they have tried several combinations unsuccessfully. Salman Butt is at last finding form at the top of the order, but they have dropped Kamran Akmal for this series. I believe this is a mistake as on his day Akmal can destroy most attacks. Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousef, Misbah Ul Haq, Malik and master blaster Afridi make up a formidable batting line-up and on home tracks they could be very difficult to contain.

On the bowling front, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Iftikhar Anjum and the spin of Afridi and Malik makes them a strong, well balanced unit.

I fully expect Pakistan to reach the final in this tournament, but fear they will fall at that final hurdle.

India

Undisputed Asian top dogs in recent years. In head to heads, they have won 10 from last 14 against Sri Lanka , and 9 from last 13 against Pakistan , including a 4-1 series win in their last ODI series in Pakistan .

You have to feel sorry for the Pakistan and Sri Lankan bowlers. Just imagine the scenario. They toil to get Sehwag and Gambhir out at top or order, only to see Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma take their place. They toil to get those two out, and in comes Dhoni and Suresh Raina, and if that is not enough, there is Yousef and Irfan Pathan and even Chawla and Kumar at no9 and no10 know a thing or two about batting.

This Indian Batting line-up is probably the best, collectively, in world cricket at the moment. With Hayden/Gilchrist partnership no more, it's the Sehwag/Gamhbir that is the most feared in world cricket now. With Yuvraj, Rohit, Dhoni, Raina and the Pathan brothers to follow, this Indian batting line-up will score close to or over 300 more times then not.

But batting on its own won't win you games. So how are India in the bowling stakes?

They got New pace sensation Ishant Sharma, new spin sensation Piyush Chawla backed up by RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and one of the best ODI bowlers in Irfan Pathan.

Great balance in this bowling attack, suitable for any pitch conditions.

Any team can have bad days, but I believe that if India play anywhere near their potential they will win this tournament comfortably and I have absolutely no reservations about recommending a back of them at the generous 2.25 available.

Suggested Bet:

BACK India to win the Asia Cup Outright for 4 points @ 2.25 at Bluesq

Bigjoe