India Slip to Fifth Place in ICC ODI Championship Table After England Loss
Sreelata Yellamrazu: India’s tour of England could not have been any more damaging than it has been and as if in evidence of the fact, ICC have revealed that India have slipped not only in the Test rankings but also, in the ICC ODI Championship Table, falling behind England a Sreelata Yellamrazu:
India’s tour of England could not have been any more damaging than it has been and as if in evidence of the fact, ICC have revealed that India have slipped not only in the Test rankings but also, in the ICC ODI Championship Table, falling behind England after the latter won the ODI series.
Friday night’s defeat and series loss by 3-0 meant Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side’s lowest ranking since October 2008 when it spent three months at the number-five position to sum up a disappointing summer in England where it slipped from number-one position in the Reliance ICC Test Championship to third spot after losing all the four Tests. India had entered the series in third position on 117 ratings points and finished on 112 ratings points after it lost the second, third and fifth ODIs while the first ODI at Chester-le-Street was washed-out and the fourth at Lord’s had ended in a tie which confirmed England as the series winner under relatively new captain, Alastair Cook.
India’s slide India had slipped to fourth position after the third ODI at The Oval where it went down by three wickets (according to Duckworth-Lewis method) and then slipped further behind after defeat in another rain-reduced match in Cardiff. In contrast, England has gained a place and has moved to fourth position. For remaining unbeaten in the series, Alastair Cook’s side has earned six ratings points which has left it just one points ahead of India and as many as three behind third-ranked South Africa.
For England, they could not have scripted it any better, given that England have been able to dominate right through the English summer, keeping India under their thumb and prevailing even in seemingly tight situations. For a team that is experimenting with three different captains for the three formats, it has been a successful run and their climbing over India, even if it is by one place is an achievement England will gladly accept as part of their strategic approach to the top.
Although it must seem like all has been lost on this tour of England, India will have a chance to not only reclaim lost ground but potentially move into second position depending on how it performs in the five-ODI series against England which starts at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday 14 October. A lot of factors will decide how India finish at the end of the series because there is more international cricket in store in the form of the South Africa-Australia ODI series that is immediate on the agenda.
For India, it is a prime matter of regaining lost ground because it certainly seems like going in the wrong direction after winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, a victory that came to India after twenty-eight long years when India won the first World Cup trophy in 1983 under Kapil Dev. The double debacle in terms of losing the top Test rank as well as their prestige in the follow up series means that India have some work to do before climbing higher up once more. The good news is that there is more cricket is in store for the Indian cricket team.
