India must win a match to retain position in the ICC ODI team rankings

Published - 10 Jan 2016, 15:38 IST | Updated - 10 Jan 2016, 15:38 IST

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The Indian on their limited-overs tour to Australia should win at least one ODI in the five-match series to retain their number two position in the ICC ODI Team Rankings. The first ODI will commence from 12th January in Perth. Australia’s place as the number-one position in the ICC ODI Team Championship is firmly secured and wouldn’t alter even if they lose the series to the visitors.

Australia (127) leads second-ranked India (114) by 13 points and even if it loses all the five matches of the series, Australia will drop points but will still finish one point ahead of India. In contrast, India cannot afford such result because if they lose all the five matches as they will slip behind South Africa and will join fourth-ranked New Zealand on 111 points, but will be ranked third when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. To retain its second place, India needs to win at least one match in the series.

Meanwhile, in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, India boasts three batsmen inside the top 10, while Australia only has Glenn Maxwell in 10th position.

Virat Kohli is the highest-ranked batsman from either side in second position. He trails number-one ranked AB de Villiers of South Africa by 96 points but is ahead of another South African, Hashim Amla, by 28 points. This means the India Test captain will be aiming to produce solid performances to not only consolidate his second position but to also narrow the gap with the top-ranked de Villiers.

Sixth-ranked MS Dhoni and seventh-ranked Shikhar Dhawan are separated by just 11 points, which means there can potentially be some changes in the middle of the pack depending on how these two batsmen perform. Batsmen sitting outside the top 10 and aiming for upward movement include Rohit Sharma (13th), Aaron Finch (14th), George Bailey (15th), Steven Smith (20th), David Warner (23rd), Ajinkya Rahane (28th) and James Faulkner (30th).

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers, India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will start as the highest-ranked bowler from either side in the absence of number-one ranked Mitchell Starc.

Ashwin, who is the number-one ranked Test bowler, is in 10th position and will be aiming to return to the top five. However, to make it happen, he will have to produce exceptional performances as he trails South Africa’s fifth-ranked Dale Steyn by 42 points.

India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the next highest-ranked bowler to feature in the series. He is in 14thposition and 43 points behind Ashwin. Other bowlers aiming for upward movements include Faulkner (22nd), Ravindra Jadeja (25th), Axar Patel (30th) and Umesh Yadav (37th).

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-Rounders, fourth-ranked Maxwell and fifth-ranked Faulkner will be aiming to gain one place each as they have Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan firmly within their sights. The list is headed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.

Series schedule:

12 Jan – 1^st ODI, Perth

15 Jan – 2^nd ODI, Brisbane

17 Jan – 3^rd ODI, Melbourne

20 Jan – 4^th ODI, Canberra

23 Jan – 5^th ODI, Sydney

ICC ODI TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (as on 10 January, before the start of Australia-India series)

RANK TEAM POINTS

1 Australia 127

2 India 114

3 South Africa 112

4 New Zealand 111