Australia need to beat India 6-1 for No.1 ODI spot

Pune, Oct 11 (IANS) Australia faces a tough task in unseating India as the No.1 side in the ICC ODI rankings table when the top two ranked sides meet in the seven-match ODI series starting here Sunday.

India starts the series with 123 points, with Australia in second place with 115 points.

To retain their No.1 ranking, India will have to win two or more matches in the series. However, Australia will have to win the series 6-1 or better to reclaim the top spot they last held in July 2012.

In the event of a 6-1 series’ win, Australia will gain six points to move to top spot on 121 points, while India will drop to second position with 118 points, a loss of five points.

Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja will start the series as the joint No.1 ODI bowler with West Indies’ Sunil Narine and can claim the sole spot for the first time in his career.

The Australian pace duo of Clint McKay and Mitchell Johnson are the other bowlers inside the top 10.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin in 18th and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in 20th are the other bowlers inside the top 20.

The series will also feature as many as four batsmen who sit inside the top 10. They are Virat Kohli (fourth), MS Dhoni (seventh), George Bailey (ninth) and Shane Watson (10th).

India’s Suresh Raina in 16th place is the only other batsman inside the top 20, on either side.

The batsmen list is headed by South Africa’s Hashim Amla, with his captain AB de Villiers in second place and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara in third position.