India and Sri Lanka vie for number-one spot

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Dubai, 15 November 2009

Series victory puts Sangakkara’s men top while home team needs a 2-0 win or better to move past South Africa

Gambhir and Sangakkara resume battle for the top batting spot while Muralidaran aims to regain number-one bowling position

After failing to replace Australia at the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table earlier this month, India gets a shot at the number-one spot in the longer version of the game when it goes head to head with Sri Lanka in the three-Test series which begins in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Only three ratings points separates first-placed South Africa from third-placed India in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship and all could change as the most challenging and important format of the game returns to action after nearly 10 weeks’ break.

India will go on top of the Test table if it beats Sri Lanka by 2-0 or better. In case of a 2-0 win, India will climb to 124 ratings points (two ahead of South Africa) while a 3-0 victory will take Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side to 125 ratings points (three ahead of the Proteas).

India’s 2-0 win will drop Sri Lanka from second place to fourth position behind Australia on 115 ratings points while a 3-0 defeat will put Kumar Sangakkara’s side on 114 ratings points.

Sri Lanka also has a chance to claim the coveted number-one position. And to achieve this, it simply needs to win the series.

A 1-0 or 2-1 win will take Sri Lanka to 123 ratings points (one ahead of South Africa) while dropping India to 116 ratings points, in fourth position when ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. A 2-0 victory will lift Sri Lanka to 125 ratings points and will drop India to 114 ratings points.

A drawn series will mean the status quo is maintained.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, ICC Test Player of the Year 2009 Gautam Gambhir and Sangakkara resume their fight for the number-one batting slot with the India opener leading the Sri Lanka captain by just nine points.

Gambhir has a modest record against Sri Lanka by his high standards as he has scored only 364 runs at an average of little over 33 in six Tests with three half-centuries. However, he has been in good form this year as in the three Tests to date, he has scored 445 runs from six innings at an average of 89.

In contrast, Sangakkara has a decent record against India as he has scored 549 runs at an average of little over 42 from 14 innings of nine Tests with two centuries and a half-century. This year, the 32-year-old from Matale has been in impressive form and has already scored 842 runs with three centuries and five half-centuries from eight Tests at an average of 60.

Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jaywardena, in seventh position, is the only other batsmen from either side inside the top 10. A productive series with the bat could potentially take him to third spot as 26 points separates the 32-year-old from Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies.

The other batsmen inside the top 20 are Sachin Tendulkar (15^th), Thilan Samaraweera (16^th), VVS Laxman (18^th) and Tillakeratne Dilshan (19^th) while outside the top 20 and eyeing an upward movement are Virender Sehwag (21^st), Rahul Dravid (25^th), Dhoni (33^rd) and Yuvraj Singh (49^th).

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Sri Lanka’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran will be aiming to reclaim the top spot from South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn whom he trails by 16 points.

Muralidaran had slipped behind Steyn for the first time in three years back in July after missing the series against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury. Steyn had also briefly joined Muralidaran in number-one position after the second Test against India in Ahmedabad in April 2008 and had failed to go top on his own after a disappointing third and final Test against India in Kanpur.

The 37-year-old from Kandy has already taken 783 wickets and is just 17 wickets short of becoming the first bowler in the history of Test cricket to reach the 800-wicket mark. Australia’s Shane Warne retired from international cricket in January 2007 after finishing on 708 wickets while India’s Anil Kumble retired last year after taking 619 Test wickets.

India boasts two bowlers in Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan inside the top 10. Harbhajan Singh is in fifth spot with South Africa paceman Makhaya Ntini’s fourth position firmly within his sights while Zaheer sits in eighth position, 19 points behind South Africa’s left-arm spinner Paul Harris.

The bowlers outside the top 20 and aiming to improve their rankings are Ishant Sharma (21^st), Ajantha Mendis (31^st), S Sreesanth (35^th) and Rangana Herath (45^th).

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, Harbhajan is the highest-ranked player from either side in 10^th spot. The list is headed by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis with New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori in second place.

The schedule of the series is:

16-20 Nov – First Test, Ahmedabad

24-28 Nov – Second Test, Kanpur

2-6 Dec – Third Test, Mumbai

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship (as of 15 November, prior to the start of India – Sri Lanka Test series)

Rank Team Rating

1 South Africa 122

2 Sri Lanka 120

3 India 119

4 Australia 116

5 England 105

6 Pakistan 84

7 New Zealand 80

8 West Indies 76

9 Bangladesh 13

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (as of 15 November, prior to the start of India – Sri Lanka Test series)

Batsmen

Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating

1 Gautam Gambhir Ind 847! 54.07 847 v NZ at Wellington 2009

2 Kumar Sangakkara SL 838 54.99 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

3 S.Chanderpaul WI 821 49.28 901 v NZ at Napier 2008

4 Mohammad Yousuf Pak 818 54.86 933 v WI at Karachi 2006

5 Michael Clarke Aus 808 49.35 855 v Eng at Headingley 2009

6 Younus Khan Pak 801 50.09 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

7 Mahela Jayawardena SL 795 52.83 854 v Ban at Dhaka 2008

8 Graeme Smith SA 782 50.33 810 v Aus at Melbourne 2008

9 Ricky Ponting Aus 779 55.88 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006

10 Jacques Kallis SA 755 54.66 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007

11 Ashwell Prince SA 742 47.29 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007

12= Andrew Strauss Eng 740 44.62 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005

AB de Villiers SA 740! 43.92 740 v Aus at Cape Town 2009

14 Kevin Pietersen Eng 727 49.96 909 v WI at Headingley 2007

15 Sachin Tendulkar Ind 720 54.58 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002

16 Thilan Samaraweera SL 707! 50.97 707 v NZ at Galle 2009

17 Ramnaresh Sarwan WI 704 42.32 767 v Eng at Bridgetown 2009

18 VVS Laxman Ind 703 45.24 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004

19 Tillekeratne Dilshan SL 695! 43.34 695 v NZ at Galle 2009

20 Simon Katich Aus 687 43.33 720 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

Bowlers

Rank Player Team Pts Avge Econ HS Rating

1 Dale Steyn SA 844 23.70 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008

2 Muttiah Muralidaran SL 828 22.19 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007

3 Mitchell Johnson Aus 786 28.80 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

4 Makhaya Ntini SA 741 28.37 863 v Ind at Durban 2006

5 Harbhajan Singh Ind 735 30.42 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002

6 Stuart Clark Aus 710* 23.86 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008

7 Paul Harris SA 669*! 32.60 669 v Aus at Cape Town 2009

8 Zaheer Khan Ind 650 33.84 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007

9 James Anderson Eng 643 34.87 710 v Aus at Edgbaston 2009

10 Graeme Swann Eng 634*! 30.39 634 v Aus at The Oval 2009

11 Daniel Vettori NZ 624 33.52 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000

12 Brett Lee Aus 621 30.81 811 v WI at Antigua 2008

13= Stuart Broad Eng 617*! 35.78 617 v Aus at The Oval 2009

Peter Siddle Aus 617*! 28.93 617 v Eng at The Oval 2009

15 Jerome Taylor WI 614* 35.55 717 v Eng at Kingston 2009

16 Ryan Sidebottom Eng 610* 27.70 769 v SA at Lord's 2008

17 Chris Martin NZ 606 33.28 643 v Eng at Lord's 2004

18 Danish Kaneria Pak 605 34.57 723 v Eng at Multan 2005

19 Jacques Kallis SA 603 31.08 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003

20 Umar Gul Pak 586* 32.40 627 v WI at Karachi 2006

All-rounders

Rank Player Team Pts HS Rating

1 Jacques Kallis SA 455 616 v Pak at Durban 2002

2 Daniel Vettori NZ 369! 369 v SL at Galle 2009

3 Mitchell Johnson Aus 342*/ 384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

4 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 282*/*! 282 v WI at St George's 2009

5 Stuart Broad Eng 278*/*! 278 v Aus at The Oval 2009