India will climb to third in the ICC Test Championship table if it can win both matches of its forthcoming home Test series against South Africa starting in Kanpur on Saturday, November 20.
India, currently fourth in the official Test table, missed out on the chance to climb to second when it lost the recent home series against Australia 2-1. It has another chance to overtake Pakistan and pull level with England on 109 points if it can win both of its matches against South Africa.
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South Africa dropped out of the top two in the official Test table for the first time in August 2004 and currently occupies sixth position. It goes into the series with a rating of 102 and needs a draw to improve this by a point.
If South Africa wins this series 1-0 it will overtake India while a 2-0 victory will lift it back up to third with a rating of 107 points.
Australia v New Zealand:
Australia's home series against New Zealand begins on Thursday, November 18, in Brisbane with the home side looking to extend its lead at the top of the table.
A 2-0 series win for Australia will see it build on its advantage at the top of the official Test standings by two points.
This would boost Australia's rating to 130 points for the first time since the completion of the drawn home series against India at the start of 2004.
New Zealand will be looking for a repeat of their last tour of Australia when they held the hosts to a 0-0 series draw. A similar outcome would boost New Zealand's Test rating from 95 to 98 points.
If New Zealand can win the series 1-0 it will improve it's rating to 101 points.
The ICC Test Championship table on November 16:
| Position | Team | Rating |
| 1 | Australia | 128 |
| 2 | England | 109 |
| 3 | Pakistan | 105 |
| 4 | India | 105 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 103 |
| 6 | South Africa | 102 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 95 |
| 8 | West Indies | 73 |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | 51 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 0 |
India v South Africa, 2 Tests, Nov-Dec 2004:
| Result | India | South Africa |
| Current rating: | 105 | 102 |
| Possible series outcomes: | ||
| India wins 2-0 | 109 | 98 |
| India wins 1-0 | 107 | 100 |
| Drawn 0-0,1-1 | 104 | 103 |
| South Africa wins 0-1 | 102 | 105 |
| South Africa wins 0-2 | 100 | 107 |
Australia v New Zealand, 2 Tests, Nov 2004:
| Result | Australia | New Zealand |
| Current rating: | 128 | 95 |
| Possible series outcomes: | ||
| Australia wins 2-0 | 130 | 93 |
| Australia wins 1-0 | 128 | 95 |
| Drawn 0-0, 1-1 | 126 | 98 |
| New Zealand wins 0-1 | 123 | 101 |
| New Zealand wins 0-2 | 122 | 103 |
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