India drops to 3rd place in ODI rankings

Mumbai, Nov 11 (PTI) Having begun the series with a
genuine chance of becoming the top ODI team in the world,
India Wednesday slipped back to third position after going
down 2-4 to world champion Australia in the seven-match home
series that concluded here Wednesday.
In contrast, Australia reaffirmed its number-one status
after dominant 10 weeks of one-day cricket even though the
seventh and final ODI against India here was washed out
Wednesday.
India went into the seven-match series as world number
two and needed to win the series to topple Australia from the
top slot but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men could not
capitalise on the injury-ravaged Australia's thin resource and
lost the series.
For Australia, it caps off a superb 10 weeks or so of ODI
cricket, having beaten England 6-1 at their own backyard,
followed by a victorious performance at the ICC Champions
Trophy in South Africa and now an impressive series victory
over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team.
Notwithstanding injuries to some of its first-choice
players, Australia has showed the world that it deservedly
sits atop the ODI Championship table, a position it briefly
lost to both South Africa and India in recent months.
As recently as September 20, the Aussies were ranked
third behind India and the Proteas but now there are eight
ratings points separating them from Graeme Smith's team.
However, with a five-ODI series coming up against England and
with Australia concentrating on Test cricket until the third
week in January, there is the opportunity for South Africa to
close that gap.
Elsewhere, Zimbabwe has lost one ratings point following
its 0-2 series defeat to South Africa and now sits just a
single point above Ireland in the 10th position. PTI AY
ANU