ICC ODI Ranking: Shuffling of the pack on the cards

Second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship will be up for grabs when South Africa hosts Zimbabwe in a three-ODI series from today and India goes head to head with Australia, starting on Sunday.

While Australia sits pretty in number-one position on 132 ratings points, both India and South Africa, along with Sri Lanka, are locked on 115 ratings points. However, Mahendra Singh Dhoni?s side is placed highest of those three by a fraction.
All that could change depending on how the India-Australia and South Africa-Zimbabwe series pan out. If South Africa wins all three ODIs, it will move to 116 ratings points while a 3-0 or 2-1 series win for India will keep Dhoni?s side in control of second position on 121 or 118 ratings points, respectively.

But India can drop to fourth if it loses the series.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, ICC ODI Player of the Year 2010 AB de Villiers and Dhoni resume their battle for the coveted number-one position in different continents.

De Villier claimed the top spot from Dhoni on 29 August but with the South African enjoying a slender nine-point lead, all that could change depending how the two perform with the bat.

Australia batsman Mike Hussey is narrowly behind Dhoni in third place and will also be aiming to regain the top position which he last achieved back in February after the series against Pakistan.

Also inside the top 20 and aiming for upward movements are Hashim Amla (joint-fourth), Jacques Kallis (seventh), Virender Sehwag (eighth), Graeme Smith (13th) and Michael Clarke (17th).

Zimbabwe?s highest-ranked batsman is Brendan Taylor in 40th position. In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger in sixth place is the highest-ranked player who will be featuring in these two series.

Zimbabwe left-arm spinner Ray Price is in seventh position. The list is headed by New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori whose side currently trails 3-0 against Bangladesh with the last ODI in Dhaka on Sunday.

If Bangladesh wins Sunday?s ODI, it will join the West Indies on 67 ratings points but will be placed behind Chris Gayle?s side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point while New Zealand will slip behind Pakistan in seventh position.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan leads the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders. The left-hander is the only player with more than 400 points while second-ranked Shane Watson of Australia is on 367 ratings points.

Only 16 ratings point separate fourth-ranked Kallis from fifth-placed Vettori with Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi occupying third spot.

Series schedule:

South Africa v Zimbabwe
15 Oct ? First ODI, Bloemfontein
17 Oct ? Second ODI, Potchefstroom
22 Oct ? Third ODI, Benoni

India v Australia
17 Oct ? First ODI, Kochi
20 Oct ? Second ODI, Visakhapatnam
24 Oct ? Third ODI, Margao