India rise to third in ODI rankings

India moved up two places from fifth to third position on the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table after beating England in the opening two matches of the seven-ODI series currently taking place in India.

As a result, England now sits in sixth position, having slipped from third following the two comprehensive defeats. Having lost three ratings points, England is just behind New Zealand by a fraction of a point.

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However, with five matches still remaining in the series and the ODI Championship ladder very closely packed, there is plenty of time for Kevin Pietersen and his men to make amends. On the other hand, if India can continue the way it is going, it can go second in the ladder by the end of the series.

Pakistan is the other big mover this week as Shoaib Malik's team moved up two places to fourth following its 3-0 series win against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi.

• Images: India vs England, 2nd ODI, Indore

There are now just two ratings points separating India in third position from England in sixth with South Africa just another four points ahead. So expect to see plenty of movement in the coming weeks. Australia is still out in front, some 12 ratings points clear of the Proteas.

Meanwhile, India's players are already reaping the rewards of their early successes in the series. Yuvraj Singh, who scored centuries in both matches, has shot up the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. The 26-year-old gained no fewer than 11 places and now sits in sixth position as he enjoys the highest rating of his career to date.

Despite losing its series with Pakistan, West Indies' batsmen have made big improvements in the latest rankings. Chris Gayle, who scored two typically entertaining hundreds in the three-match series in the United Arab Emirates, gained six places into fifth position while ICC Cricketer of the Year 2008 Shivnarine Chanderpaul is just ahead of him having jumped two places to fourth.

Ramnaresh Sarwan also had a good series with the bat and jumped seven places to 13th in the list.

Australia captain and former number-one batsman Ricky Ponting is the one to lose out in the top five as he is overtaken by Yuvraj, Gayle and Chanderpaul. The Tasmanian has been concentrating on Test cricket of late but will have ample opportunity to regain lost ground when Australia takes on South Africa and New Zealand in ODIs early in 2009.

Meanwhile, there are a number of batsmen hovering on the cusp of the top 20 after recent matches. Yunus Khan of Pakistan has gained four places to 21st position and now has the highest rating of his career so far while India's Gautam Gambhir has also progressed four spots and now sits just behind Yunus in 22nd place.

Also for Pakistan, Misbah-ul-Haq moves up 10 places to 31st position while wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal gains nine places to 51st after his heroics with the bat in Abu Dhabi.

Following its successful series against Bangladesh, South Africa's AB de Villiers (up three places to 14th) and Jacques Kallis (up two to 17th) are also moving in the right direction. Herschelle Gibbs, however, has slipped three spots in the latest rankings and now occupies 15th position.

The batting rankings are still headed by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni followed by Australia's Michael Hussey in second place and Graeme Smith of South Africa in third.

The big mover in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers is Sohail Tanvir, who has broken into the top 10 bowlers for the first time in his career after an impressive performance against the West Indies.

The 23-year-old has made rapid progress since making his ODI debut in October 2007 and his haul of seven wickets at an average of 15.14 and economy rate of 4.00 in Abu Dhabi has boosted him further to the tune of 12 places. He now sits in seventh spot, in between the Sri Lanka pair of Muttiah Muralidaran in sixth position and Chaminda Vaas in eighth.

West Indies speedster Jerome Taylor gains two places and heads into the top 10, underlying the fact that despite losing 3-0 with Pakistan, the series did not come without positives for the men from the Caribbean.

England's Andrew Flintoff loses five places to 13th position in the bowling rankings after taking just one wicket in the first two matches of the series at a cost of 116 runs and an economy rate of 6.10.

Chris Gayle's bowling has also been an important aspect of the West Indies game plan of late and with his batting really firing, he has moved up three places and back into the top five of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders. That list is headed by New Zealand's Jacob Oram followed in second place by Flintoff.

ICC ODI Team Rankings