DUBAI, NOV 1 : India and Sri Lanka go head to head in a five-ODI series in Cuttack on Sunday eyeing the number-one position on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings. India currently sit in third position behind South Africa and Australia, and leads fourth-ranked Sri Lanka by two ratings points. However, if the home side win the series by 4-1 or better, then it will jump to the top of the leaderboard, according to International Cricket Council.
A 4-1 series win will put India at par with South Africa on 115 ratings points, but when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, then it will be ranked number-one. A 5-0 sweep will mean India will take a two-point lead over South Africa.
In contrast, the task for Sri Lanka is more challenging. For it to achieve the number-one position, it will have to win all the five matches. In this scenario, Sri Lanka will join South Africa on 115 ratings points but will be ranked number-one by a fraction of a point.
If the visitors win the series by 4-1, then it will swap places with the reigning world champion.
To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the rankings table, please click here. The ODI and T20I rankings tables, unlike the Test ranking table, is updated after each match.
Meanwhile, India’s captain for the first three ODIs, Virat Kohli, will be aiming to regain the number-one ranking in the forthcoming series. The 25-year-old batsman is currently sitting in third position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen and trails number-one ranked AB de Villiers of South Africa by 30 ratings points.
Sri Lanka’s former captain Kumar Sangakkara is his side’s highest-ranked batsman in fifth position and has Australia’s fourth-ranked George Bailey firmly within his sights.
Rival openers Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka and India’s Shikhar Dhawan are in seventh and ninth positions, respectively and will be aiming for upward movements.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers, India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in sixth position is the highest-ranked bowler from either side. He trails fourth-ranked James Anderson of England by 30 ratings points.
Bowlers outside the top 10 and aiming to head in the right direction include Ravichandaran Ashwin (18th), Angelo Mathews (25th), Nuwan Kulasekara (43rd) and Thisara Perera (50th).
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews will be targeting the number-one position on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders. The 27-year-old is enjoying his career-high rating of 387 and is 24 ratings points behind Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez who is in first place.
Series schedule:
2 Nov – 1st ODI, Cuttack
6 Nov – 2nd ODI, Ahmedabad
9 Nov – 3rd ODI, Hyderabad
13 Nov – 4th ODI, Kolkata
16 Nov – 5th ODI, Ranchi
Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 1 November, before the start of India-SL ODI series)
1. South Africa 115
2. Australia 114
3. India 113
4. Sri Lanka 111
5. England 107
6. Pakistan 98
7. New Zealand 96
8. West Indies 96
9. Bangladesh 69
10. Zimbabwe 58
11. Afghanistan 42
12. Ireland 33