India may slump to 8th rank

Thanks to their disastrous Caribbean campaign, Team India can slump to as low as eighth position in the ICC ODI Championship ladder after the cricket World Cup.

Rahul Dravid's men cut a sorry figure in the West Indies, managing their lone win against a lowly Bermuda and losing to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

India, currently ranked sixth, might slip two rungs if the West Indies and England register good results in the coming weeks.

Currently, England lie just one point behind Team India with the West Indies just two points further back. But the top slot is up for grabs.

South Africa will retain the spot at the April 1 cut-off if it beats Sri Lanka in Guyana on Wednesday. If they fail and Australia win back-to-back matches against the West Indies tomorrow and Bangladesh on Saturday, Ricky Ponting's men will be back to the top again.

The date is significant because the side that leads the ladder on April 1 receives USD 175,000 for its achievement, while the side that lies second collects USD 75,000.

Smith's side assumed first place from Australia last month following an outstanding run of results over the past year, which saw the team win 15 of its 21 matches ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

It is the first time a side has overtaken Australia in the LG ICC ODI Championship table since the listings began in October 2002.

Following Australia's victory over South Africa in St Kitts on Saturday the teams are now both on 126 points at the top of the table. However, when calculated to three decimal points, it is Smith's side that just comes out in front.

If Australia beats the West Indies and Bangladesh, and South Africa also defeats Sri Lanka then both teams will end up on 127 points by the cut-off date. Again, upon further calculations, South Africa would finish ahead of Australia by just 0.1199 point.

In the ODI batting rankings, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's lone representative in the top 10, slid three places to fifth, a place he shares with Graeme Smith.

Dravid is placed 12th in the ladder, which saw Yuvraj Singh slid to 17th.

Harbhajan Singh, at 13th, remains the highest ranked Indian bowler.