Cuttack wash-out helps India keep No 1 ODI ranking

The rain gods came to the rescue of team India.

Reining World champion India has managed to retain its No 1 spot in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings after the last two 50-over games in the seven-match home series against Australia were washed-out.

Australia lead the series 2-1 with the final two matches to be played in Nagpur and Bengaluru on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

Australia needed to win the series 6-1 or better to dislodge India from the top and reclaim the No 1 spot, which it last held in July 2012.

If Australia manages to win the final two ODIs, it will rise to 119 ratings points while India will finish on 120 ratings points.

In sharp contrast, if India wins both matches, it will finish on 123 ratings points while Australia will slide to 114 ratings points -– only three ahead of second placed England and third ranked Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, two Indians feature in the top 10 ODI batsmen chart with Virat Kohli on the fourth position ahead of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who occupies the seventh position.

The upcoming ODI series against Pakistan offers South Africa captain AB de Villiers an opportunity to overtake Hashim Amla at the top of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen.

De Villiers was last ranked No 1 in July 2013, and recently overtook Amla for the top spot of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.

Among the bowlers, India's left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja will strive to gain sole ownership of the No 1 rank on the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers with impressive performances in the last matches against Australia.

Jadeja presently shares the numero uno position with West Indies' Sunil Narine.

Among other teams Pakistan has an opportunity to gain a place on the ICC ODI Team Rankings if it wins its upcoming five-match series against South Africa by 3-2 or better. The series will begin in Sharjah on Wednesday.

Pakistan is currently sitting in sixth position, four ratings points behind South Africa. However, if Pakistan wins the series 3-2, the two sides will swap places, with the Asian side moving into fifth position on 103 ratings points and the Proteas dropping to sixth spot on 102 ratings points.

Conversely, South Africa will move to 107 ratings points if it wins the series 4-1 and will narrow the gap with England and Sri Lanka to just four ratings points. That gap will be trimmed to just one rating point if South Africa sweeps the series.

New Zealand finds itself in a must-win situation in its three-match series against host Bangladesh that starts in Dhaka on Tuesday.

New Zealand is in seventh position on 89 ratings points while Bangladesh is ranked ninth on 76 ratings points.

If Bangladesh wins the series, it will move to 79 ratings points while New Zealand will slip behind the West Indies into eighth, on 87 ratings. However, if New Zealand wins the series, then it will gain two ratings points and rise to 91 ratings points, while Bangladesh will drop to 75 ratings points after conceding one rating point.