It has been amusing to note India's fluctuating fortunes in the International Cricket Committee's ODI championship ratings during the course of the TVS Cup.

When the triangular event began, India were eighth with 104 points, Australia first with 135, and New Zealand sixth with 106.

Also See Rediff ODI ratings

Nothing changed after the abandoned India-New Zealand game at Chennai, but after defeating Australia at Gwalior, India jumped to fourth place with 107 points. Australia remained at the top, but their points dropped from 135 to 132.

If India had defeated Australia at Mumbai, India would have been third! Sadly, they lost and their position slipped from fourth to sixth.

After losing to New Zealand at Cuttack, India are once again in eighth position with 104 points. Currently, after the Guwahati game, Australia are first with 135 points and New Zealand seventh with 105 points.

If India win at Bangalore tomorrow and at Hyderabad on Saturday, they will again be third with 108 points. If India win the final, they could reach 110, being third behind South Africa at 118.

So what's the true ranking of the Indian cricket team in ODI cricket? Third? Fourth? Fifth? Sixth? Seventh? Or Eighth? And what's New Zealand's true ranking?

It seems that the ICC's ODI ratings can only unequivocally say the following: Australia are the best, Bangladesh are the worst, and Kenya and Zimbabwe are only a shade better. If you want to know the rankings of India, England, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka or West Indies, check the day of the week.

To get a reasonable indication of India's true ranking, readers must await the next update of the Rediff ODI ratings. Our calculations indicate that India will stay third (but get quite close to second-placed South Africa) if they win the last two league matches and the final. If India lose in the final, they will still be a comfortable third. If, however, India lose all their remaining matches, and so fail to make the final, they will surrender the third place to Sri Lanka.