The upcoming five-match One-Day International series between India and Australia will have a lot at stake, as both the teams will have a chance to move up the top of ODI rankings.
With 119 points, South Africa is leading the rankings while India and Australia are both on 117 points with the team from Down Under ahead of the Men in Blue on decimal points. However, both the teams will have a chance to topple the Proteas with a comprehensive series win with a margin of 4-1 or better.
A whitewash for either of the sides will see them moving to 122 points while a win with a margin of 4-1 will see the winner moving to 120 points. On the other hand, if the hosts suffer an unexpected whitewash, their points will be reduced to 114 while a similar defeat for Australia will see them ending the series with 113 points.
Here are the scenarios for the upcoming series:
• India beat Australia 5-0 – India 122, Australia 113
• India beat Australia 4-1 – India 120, Australia 114
• India beat Australia 3-2 – India 118, Australia 116
• Australia beat India 3-2 – Australia 118, India 116
• Australia beat India 4-1 – Australia 120, India 114
• Australia beat India 5-0 – Australia 122, India 112
The series will kick start on Sunday (September 17) in Chennai. Meanwhile, the series is expected to be an exciting one with both the teams in pretty good form at the moment. While Australia is fresh off a thumping Test win in Bangladesh, India is brimming with confidence after the historic ‘tour wash’ in Sri Lanka where they won all the nine matches.
Moreover, both the teams will be keen to come out on top after the fiercely-fought Test series earlier this year which went right down to the wire before Virat Kohli & Co. sealed it 2-1.
When Australia last toured India for ODIs in 2013, it was a run-fest, and Australia skipper Steve Smith is expecting a similar series this time too.
“It’s always a hard-fought contest playing against India, and we’re excited by the challenge of playing over here,” Smith told reporters earlier this week. “Looking back to the last one-day tour of India, I wasn’t on it in 2013, but it was a big run-fest from memory with pretty flat wickets and big totals. We’ll see what we’re presented with but it could be the same again.”