India can overtake Australia and capture second place in ODI team rankings
Two of top three bowlers take on two of top three batsmen over five matches in New Zealand
India will go second in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table if it wins its upcoming five-match series in New Zealand 5-0.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team currently lies in third position, some four ratings points behind second-placed Australia and five behind top team South Africa.
A clean sweep for India will put it ahead of Ricky Ponting’s men by a fraction of a point but it would remain just behind the Proteas in what would be an extraordinarily tightly packed leader board with one ratings point separating the top three ODI teams in world cricket.
For its part, New Zealand can move up to third ahead of India if it wins the series 4-1 or better but it will drop as low as sixth if it suffers a 5-0 defeat.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand v India series is an opportunity for some of the top players to make further gains in the rankings. Dhoni is currently enjoying top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen but team-mate Yuvraj Singh is hot on his heels in third position so the captain will need to be in top form if he is going to remain on top by the time the fifth ODI of the series has come and gone.
On paper, at least, India has a distinct edge over its host in that department of the game with four batsmen in the top 20 – Gautam Gambhir in 12th place and Virender Sehwag in 15th – not to mention Sachin Tendulkar in 21st position, compared to just one New Zealand player (Ross Taylor in 16th place).
But it is the Black Caps’ bowling that has most impressed of late with captain Daniel Vettori currently leading the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers and Kyle Mills now in third spot, with a third bowler, Jacob Oram, in 19th place.
By contrast, India has just one bowler in the top 20 with Zaheer Khan occupying 12th position.
All in all, it promises to be a hard-fought and fascinating series with two of the world’s top three bowlers taking on two of the world’s top three batsmen.
Upcoming ODI fixtures:
3 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Napier
6 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Wellington
8 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Christchurch
11 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Hamilton
14 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Auckland
Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 2 March)
Rank Team Ratings
1 South Africa 125
2 Australia 124
3 India 120
4 New Zealand 114
5 Pakistan 111
6 England 108
7 Sri Lanka 105
8 West Indies 91
9 Bangladesh 46
10 Zimbabwe 23
11 Ireland 19
12 Kenya 0
ICC Media Release
Monday, March 02, 2009 12:01:55 PM
Two of top three bowlers take on two of top three batsmen over five matches in New Zealand
India will go second in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table if it wins its upcoming five-match series in New Zealand 5-0.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team currently lies in third position, some four ratings points behind second-placed Australia and five behind top team South Africa.
A clean sweep for India will put it ahead of Ricky Ponting’s men by a fraction of a point but it would remain just behind the Proteas in what would be an extraordinarily tightly packed leader board with one ratings point separating the top three ODI teams in world cricket.
For its part, New Zealand can move up to third ahead of India if it wins the series 4-1 or better but it will drop as low as sixth if it suffers a 5-0 defeat.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand v India series is an opportunity for some of the top players to make further gains in the rankings. Dhoni is currently enjoying top spot in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen but team-mate Yuvraj Singh is hot on his heels in third position so the captain will need to be in top form if he is going to remain on top by the time the fifth ODI of the series has come and gone.
On paper, at least, India has a distinct edge over its host in that department of the game with four batsmen in the top 20 – Gautam Gambhir in 12th place and Virender Sehwag in 15th – not to mention Sachin Tendulkar in 21st position, compared to just one New Zealand player (Ross Taylor in 16th place).
But it is the Black Caps’ bowling that has most impressed of late with captain Daniel Vettori currently leading the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers and Kyle Mills now in third spot, with a third bowler, Jacob Oram, in 19th place.
By contrast, India has just one bowler in the top 20 with Zaheer Khan occupying 12th position.
All in all, it promises to be a hard-fought and fascinating series with two of the world’s top three bowlers taking on two of the world’s top three batsmen.
Upcoming ODI fixtures:
3 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Napier
6 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Wellington
8 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Christchurch
11 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Hamilton
14 Mar – New Zealand v India (ODI), Auckland
Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 2 March)
Rank Team Ratings
1 South Africa 125
2 Australia 124
3 India 120
4 New Zealand 114
5 Pakistan 111
6 England 108
7 Sri Lanka 105
8 West Indies 91
9 Bangladesh 46
10 Zimbabwe 23
11 Ireland 19
12 Kenya 0
ICC Media Release
Monday, March 02, 2009 12:01:55 PM
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