Pakistan, Sri Lanka aim to better ICC Test standings

Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be aiming to move upwards in the ICC Test Championship table when they go head to head in a three-Test series which starts at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka is currently sitting in fifth position on 103 ratings points, while Pakistan is nine ratings points behind in sixth position.

However, all this can change depending how the series pans out. While Sri Lanka only needs to win the series to leapfrog fourth-ranked Australia, Pakistan needs to win by a 2-0 or better if it wants to move ahead of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's 1-0 or 2-1 series win will put it one ratings point ahead of Australia, a 2-0 win will place it on 107 ratings points, while a 3-0 win will give it a lead of four ratings points over Australia, the ICC said in a statement.

On the other hand, if Pakistan wins by a 2-0 margin it will move to 100 ratings points while relegating Sri Lanka to 97 ratings points whereas in case of a 3-0 win, Pakistan will rise to 102 ratings points – just two behind Australia -– and Sri Lanka will drop to 96 ratings points.

If Pakistan wins 1-0, it will narrow its gap with Sri Lanka to just one ratings point. If the series ends in a draw, then Sri Lanka will drop a ratings point while Pakistan will gain a point.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh also takes on West Indies in a two-Test in Chittagong from Friday.

Seventh-ranked West Indies leads ninth-placed Bangladesh by 81 ratings points and as the system is weighted to reflect this difference, the West Indies' failure to win the series comfortably will mean it will drop points.

If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, Bangladesh will gain eight ratings while the West Indies will drop five ratings points, but if the West Indies wins both the Tests, then it will earn only one ratings points whereas Bangladesh will concede only two ratings points.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will be targeting to regain the No. 2 position which he last held in May before slipping from that position after the first Test against England in Cardiff.

Sangakkara is currently in fifth position but trails England's pair of Ian Bell and Alastair Cook, who jointly share the second spot, by only 17 ratings points. No. 1 ranked Jacques Kallis of South Africa is 77 ratings points ahead of the left-handed Sri Lankan.

The other batsmen from either side who will be eyeing return to the top 10 include former captains Mahela Jayawardena and Younus Khan. Both the batsmen are currently in 14th and 15th positions, respectively but require less than 40 points each to break into the top 10.

In the Rankings for Test bowlers, the table is headed by Dale Steyn of South Africa, who is followed by England's James Anderson and Graeme Swann.