ICC rankings: India’s No 1 ODI ranking at stake

Dubai: India enters the five-match ODI series against New Zealand with its number-one spot in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings at stake when the two sides go head to head in the series that starts in Napier on 19 January.

India is currently ranked number one in the table with 120 ratings points, and enters the series leading eighth-ranked New Zealand by 36 ratings points. If India does not win the series, it will lose the number-one rank and as many as six ratings points.

India has been the number-one ranked ODI side since January 2013, when it replaced England at the top. For India to retain its number-one rank it has to win the series against New Zealand by any margin.

For New Zealand, a series win against India by any margin will mean that it will push up a place to seventh, ahead of West Indies. A series loss for New Zealand, however, will not make any difference to its position on the rankings table.

If India does not manage to win the series against New Zealand, either Australia or England could stake a claim on the number-one rank.

Australia and England are currently playing a five-match series, with the home team leading 1-0.

Australia is currently in second position in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings, six points behind India. For Australia to reclaim the number-one rank, it needs to beat England in its ongoing series by a margin of 3-2 or better, and it also requires New Zealand to beat India by a margin of 3-2 or better.

On the other hand, England, who sits 10 points behind India in third spot, needs to beat Australia by a margin of 4-1 or better, and also for New Zealand to win its series against India by a margin of 4-1 or better, to become the number-one ODI side again.