India once again slipped to No. 2 in the latest ICC rankings and now needs to win the final two ODIs against New Zealand to reclaim the top spot from the current table-topper Australia, which became No. 1 after beating England 4-1 in the five-match series.
India, initially, lost the No. 1 ranking to Australia after going down 0-2 against New Zealand, but England’s win in the fourth ODI put the Indians back on top.
But, Australia’s five-run win in the fifth and final ODI at Adelaide helped it reach the top of the table again. Australia began its series against England in second place with 114 ratings points, while the visitors (111) were in the third spot.
The Aussies earned three ratings points to climb to 117, on par with India, but when the ratings were calculated beyond the decimal point, Michael Clarke’s men finished ahead of M.S. Dhoni’s side.
England, on the other hand, dropped two ratings points to slip to the fourth spot, one behind South Africa.
If India wins both its remaining games against the Kiwis, it will go to the top with 118. However, if it loses even one of those matches, India will stay in second place with 116.
