April 29, 2024 20:54 (IST)
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Australia aims to reduce South Africa's lead at the top of the table
Dubai, Dec 7 (IBNS): The four-Test series between Australia and India gets underway in Adelaide on Dec 9, with the host aiming to reduce South Africa's lead at the top of the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings, and India looking to improve its sixth position.
Australia is currently ranked second on 117 ratings points, seven points adrift of the Proteas, while India is 21 ratings points behind in sixth position, on 96 ratings points.
Michael Clarke’s men must win the series to maintain the side’s hold on the second position and thereby, close the gap with leader South Africa. If Australia is to win the series 4-0, it would close the gap on South Africa to four ratings points, with India dropping to seventh, while a 3-1 win will reduce the Proteas’ lead to six ratings points.
In contrast, a 4-0 win for the visitors would see them rise to 107 ratings points, one behind second-placed Australia. A 3-1 series victory, meanwhile, would see it join England on 104 points, although Alastair Cook’s side would hold a slender 0.4 point advantage when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
A 2-2 series deadlock will see both sides maintaining their pre-series rankings, although Australia would drop to 114 points while India will rise to 99 ratings points.
Number-one ranked South Africa will face West Indies in a three-match Test series that starts on Dec 17 at Centurion.
Meanwhile, Australia opener David Warner in sixth place will start the series as the highest-ranked batsman from either side in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. The left-hander is five ratings points adrift of South Africa’s Hashim Amla in sixth position.
In all, there are three Australia batsmen in the top 20, with Michael Clarke (11th) and Steven Smith (13th) also aiming for upwards movement.
Heading into the series, India’s highest-ranked batsmen are Cheteshwar Pujara (17th), Virat Kohli (27th) and MS Dhoni (30th).
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Ryan Harris (second) is the highest ranked bowler, 54 points behind number-one ranked Dale Steyn of South Africa and two places ahead of his team-mate Mitchell Johnson (fourth).
India’s highest-ranked bowler is 28-year-old off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (12th), two rankings spots ahead of Australia’s Peter Siddle.
India’s Ashwin is in second position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test All-rounders, 41 points adrift of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson lies in fifth place, 15 points shy of England’s Stuart Broad.
Upcoming fixtures
Australia v India
9-13 Dec – 1st Test, Adelaide
17-21 Dec – 2nd Test, Brisbane
26-30 Dec – 3rd Test, Melbourne
6-10 Jan – 4th Test, Sydney
South Africa v West Indies
17-21 Dec – 1st Test, Centurion
26-30 Dec – 2nd Test, Port Elizabeth
2-6 Jan – 3rd Test, Cape Town
Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 7 December, ahead of Australia-India Test series)
Rank Team Rating
1 South Africa 124
2 Australia 117
3 England 104
4 Pakistan 103
5 Sri Lanka 101
6 India 96
7 New Zealand 94
8 West Indies 75
9 Bangladesh 32
10 Zimbabwe 18
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 7 December, ahead of Australia-India Test series):
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 K. Sangakkara SL 915 58.76 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 AB de Villiers SA 888 51.02 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
3 S.Chanderpaul WI 887 53.10 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
4 Angelo Mathews SL 873! 52.65 873 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
5 Hashim Amla SA 863 51.32 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
6 David Warner Aus 858 47.47 875 v Pak at Dubai 2014
7 Younus Khan Pak 818 53.37 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
8 Joe Root Eng 789! 50.94 789 v Ind at The Oval 2014
9 Ross Taylor NZ 783 45.95 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
10 Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 777 49.15 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014
Selected Rankings
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
11 Michael Clarke Aus 755 50.59 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
13 Steven Smith Aus 730 40.39 737 v SA at Cape Town 2014
17 C. Pujara Ind 691 49.26 851 v SA at Durban 2013
25 Chris Rogers Aus 623* 36.06 694 v Eng at Sydney 2014
27 Virat Kohli Ind 618 39.46 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
30 MS Dhoni Ind 607 38.46 662 v SA at Kolkata 2010
35 Shane Watson Aus 574 36.25 729 v Eng at Perth 2010
36 Murali Vijay Ind 569 36.29 652 v Eng at Lord's 2014
46 Ajinkya Rahane Ind 531* 39.88 612 v Eng at The Rose Bowl 2014
49 Brad Haddin Aus 518 34.20 637 v WI at Perth 2009
51 Rohit Sharma Ind 504* 48.90 578 v NZ at Wellington 2014
52 R. Ashwin Ind 503* 38.86 527 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
64 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 429* 38.58 475 v NZ at Wellington 2014
79 Shaun Marsh Aus 373* 32.86 432 v SA at Centurion 2014
89 M. Johnson Aus 333 22.24 477 v Eng at Lord's 2009
96 Mitchell Marsh Aus 316*! 41.00 316 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2014
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 Dale Steyn SA 907 22.56 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 Ryan Harris Aus 853 22.56 870 v SA at Cape Town 2014
3 Rangana Herath SL 851! 29.06 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
4 M. Johnson Aus 844 27.47 849 v Pak at Dubai 2014
5 James Anderson Eng 806 29.72 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
6 V. Philander SA 785 21.57 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
7 Stuart Broad Eng 774 29.90 783 v WI at Lord's 2012
8 Kemar Roach WI 768! 25.98 768 v Ban at St Lucia 2014
9 Trent Boult NZ 762* 27.85 767 v Ind at Wellington 2014
10 Tim Southee NZ 744 30.67 799 v WI at Kingston 2014
Selected Rankings
Rank Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
12 R. Ashwin Ind 710 28.65 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
14 Peter Siddle Aus 691 30.20 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
19 Ishant Sharma Ind 588 36.75 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
23 Nathan Lyon Aus 538 35.80 648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013
28 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 505* 30.37 570 v SA at Durban 2013
37 Shane Watson Aus 412* 31.95 633 v SA at Cape Town 2011
38 B. Kumar Ind 409* 30.25 443 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
41 Mitchell Starc Aus 394* 35.34 432 v Eng at The Oval 2013
47 M. Shami Ind 361* 36.31 422 v NZ at Wellington 2014
88 Steven Smith Aus 181*! 48.00 181 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2014
97= Michael Clarke Aus 132* 37.93 265 v NZ at Wellington 2005
Varun Aaron Ind 132*! 47.37 132 v Eng at The Oval 2014
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Points HS Rating
1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 398 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
2 Ravichandran Ashwin Ind 357*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
3 Vernon Philander SA 348*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
4 Stuart Broad Eng 296 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
5 Mitchell Johnson Aus 281 384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
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