Dubai : With the countdown towards the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 reaching the 100-day mark, Sri Lanka has laid down a marker to the other 13 teams by claiming second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI championship after a confidence-boosting series win over table-topper Australia.
Sri Lanka won the series opener in Melbourne by one wicket and then took an unassailable 2-0 lead by winning the Sydney ODI by 29 runs (D-L method).
Australia secured a consolation win in Brisbane where it won by eight wickets.
As such, Sri Lanka?s first-ever series win in Australia has earned it three ratings points which has put it one point clear of India on 118 ratings points and 10 points behind number-one ranked Australia which has conceded two ratings points.
India will have the chance to regain the number-two position later this month but to make it happen it will have to win all the five ODIs against New Zealand.
That series will start in Guwahati on 28 November.
A 5-0 clean sweep will take India to 121 ratings points while a 4-1 series win will put it alongside Sri Lanka on 118 rating points.
However, in that case Mahendra Singh Dhoni?s side would be placed just behind Kumar Sangakkara?s side by a fraction of a ratings point.
Sri Lanka?s next ODI commitment is the five-match ODI series against the West Indies which starts in Suriyawewa Stadium in Hambantota on 9 December.
Meanwhile, South Africa and Pakistan have retained their pre-series positions after the Proteas won the just-concluded series in the UAE 3-2.
South Africa is on 115 ratings points, two ahead of England, while Pakistan is on 100 ratings points and leads New Zealand by four ratings points.
According to the latest Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 9 November, after Australia-Sri Lanka and Pakistan-South Africa ODI series) ranking, Australia continues to top the table with a rating of 128 followed by Sri Lanka (118), India (117), South Africa (115), England (112), Pakistan (100), New Zealand (96), West Indies (67), Ireland (39), Zimbabwe (37), Netherlands (17) and Kenya (o).