Why India are living on the edge
India stand to lose No 1 ranking even if they fail to win just one match in threegame series, starting Sunday
DHARAMSALA:INDIA’S tour of South Africa in January has dominated much of narrative in the ongoing home series against Sri Lanka. Even the just-concluded Test series was dubbed as a ‘preparation’ for the overseas contest.
Yet, as the teams gear up for a three-odi series starting Sunday, the home team’s top world ranking status is on line in the seemingly redundant contest. Whether India would finish 2017 as the No 1 ODI side would depend on the scoreline of the three-game affair.
If India lose just one match against Sri Lanka, they would be dethroned as the top side in the ICC ODI rankings.
Currently, India and South Africa jointly hold the No 1 position with 120 rating points. Only a 3-0 sweep against Sri Lanka would ensure that India reach 121 rating points and finish the year as No 1.
Even if India win 2-1, their rating point will go down to 119 and South Africa will end the year as the No 1 side. If any of the matches are abandoned and the series is tied at 1-1, India will still become No 2 in the ranking chart. In the case of India losing the series, they will not go below No 2 in the ranking charts.
Sri Lanka, who are currently No 8, will have no change in position even if they win the series 3-0. India are, however, assured of finishing 2017 as world No 1 in Tests. They are ranked No 5 in the world in T20s. India and Sri Lanka are also playing a threet20 series, later this month. Lanka in the three- Test series as the India skipper moved up three places to grab second position among batsmen in the latest ICC Test Rankings on Thursday.
Kohli, who was the top scorer against Sri Lanka with 610 runs, scored three centuries and one fifty against the hapless visitors to guide his side to a comfortable 1-0 series win.
Kohli had a disappointing start to the series as he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings in Kolkata, but the 29-year-old bounced back with a gritty century in the second innings to take his team within inches of a stunning victory. The second Test was no different as the Indian skipper completely dismantled the Sri Lankan bowling attack and ended up scoring a mammoth 213 off 267 balls.
But Kohli kept his best for the last Test in Delhi where he slammed a career-best 243, then followed it up with a 58-ball fifty in the second innings.
Thanks to these impressive performances, Kohli leapfrogged David Warner, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kane Williamson and Joe Root to claim the second spot and is now just 45 points behind Australia skipper Steve Smith.
However, it will tough for Kohli to take away the top spot from Smith as the Aussie righthander was in a class of his own against England in the first Ashes 2017-18 Test match in Brisbane.
Smith, joint fifth highest in terms of the highest points tally in batting history in Tests, scored an unbeaten 141 on a tough Gabba pitch to lay the foundation for his team’s victory. Although he was not so successful in the Adelaide day-night Test, he will be looking to regain his form.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal gained eight places to take ninth position after scoring 366 runs in the series against India – the second highest after Kohli. All-rounder Angelo Mathews also moved up seven places to 23rd position while Dhananjaya de Silva’s matchsaving 119 lifted him nine places to 47th position.
For Australia, left-hander Shaun Marsh’s unbeaten 126 in the first Test took him to a careerbest 27th position while Tom Blundell entered the rankings in 70th position after becoming the first New Zealand wicketkeeper to score a ton on Test debut after scoring 107 against West Indies.
KOHLI, WHO WAS THE TOP SCORER AGAINST SRI LANKA WITH 610 RUNS, SCORED THREE CENTURIES AND ONE FIFTY IN TEST SERIES