 | « Back to article | Print this article |
ODI Rankings: India aim to cement No 2 position
The exciting One-day Internationals are back!
The Asia Cup sees India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, hosts Bangladesh and Afghanistan face each other.
India will start their campaign in the Asia Cup with an aim to retain the No 2 position in the ICC ODI team rankings at the April 1 cut-off date.
India, highest ranked side in Asia Cup
At No 2, India will be the highest ranked side in the five-team tournament with 115 ratings points.
The side that finishes on top of the ODI rankings receives a shield and a cheque of $ 175,000, while the side finishing second receives $ 75,000.
India held the No 2 rank for a year but ceded the top position to Australia after losing their recent ODI series against New Zealand 0-4.
Australia assured top slot
Australia are now assured of the No 1 ranking on the cut-off date with 117 ratings points. Even if India win all their matches in the Asia Cup, including the final, they will gain two ratings points to move to 117, at par with Australia. But when ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, Michael Clarke's side will be ranked higher.
Therefore, India can at best hope to retain the No 2 spot at the end of the Asia Cup, but their position could be challenged by fourth-ranked Sri Lanka.
Chance for Sri Lanka to finish as No 2
Sri Lanka rounded off a three-match series against hosts Bangladesh with a six wickets win on Saturday to win the series 3-0. The clean sweep helped Sri Lanka gain a rating point to move to 109, at par with England, but when ratings were calculated beyond the decimal point, Angelo Mathews' men were able to move ahead into fourth place.
Sri Lanka can now hope to move ahead of India on the rankings table if they win all their matches in the Asia Cup, including the final.
In such a scenario, Sri Lanka will gain three ratings points to finish on 112, a point ahead of India and therefore move up two places to second.
But if India win even one of their matches in Asia Cup, they will hold onto the No 2 ranking, in spite of losing up to three ratings points to finish on 112.