ICC Rankings: India Claims Top Spot after Thumping Australia 4-1 in ODI’s
Nov 4, 2023 at 5:38 PM
Team India wrapped up the five-match series against Australia in style, thrashing the world champions by seven wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International in Nagpur, thus reclaiming the number one spot in the 50-over format, the International Cricket Council announced shortly after the game ended.
Batting first, the visitors went off to a good start with Aaron Finch and David Warner adding 66 runs for the first wicket. However, once Hardik Pandya broke the partnership by dismissing Finch, the visitors soon found themselves four down with only 118 runs on the board. An 87-run stand between Marcus Stoinis and Travis Head then controlled the damage to a certain extent but losing wickets at regular intervals never allowed them to get the much-needed impetus as they got restricted to 242 for nine.
In reply, the Men in Blue, led by Rohit Sharma’s brilliant 125, chased down the total with more than seven overs remaining and thus not only sealed the series 4-1, also moved to the top of ODI cricket. India and Australia had started the series at 117 points with Australia ahead on decimal points, and both of them had the chance to topple South Africa to become the best-ranked team in the world.
Both the teams needed to win at least four games of the five-match series to go top of the rankings, and the hosts did it in style. With the 4-1 win, India has finished at 120 points, one point ahead of South Africa.
On the other hand, the heavy defeat has seen Australia dropping to third with 114 points. The Men in Blue had occupied the top spot for a brief period after taking a 3-0 lead in the series, but a loss in the fourth game saw them slip marginally behind South Africa to the second position.
Here is the updated ranking released by the ICC on Sunday (October 1):
Rank | Team | Points |
1 | India | 120 |
2 | South Africa | 119 |
3 | Australia | 114 |
4 | England | 114 |
5 | New Zealand | 111 |
6 | Pakistan | 95 |
7 | Bangladesh | 94 |
8 | Sri Lanka | 86 |
9 | West Indies | 77 |
10 | Afghanistan | 54 |
11 | Zimbabwe | 52 |
12 | Ireland | 41 |