Top rank added incentive for India

● India conceded the top ranking to England at the annual update on May 2 but have a chance to claim back the spot

Dubai, July 10: India can reclaim the top spot in the International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings if they blank England in the threematch series beginning on July 12.

England and India, currently ranked first and second respectively, play the first match of their upcoming series in Nottingham on Thursday to kick off a month- long extravaganza of ODIs featuring 10 teams, spread across four continents.

India, who beat England 2- 1 in the T20 series, conceded the top ranking to England at the annual update on May 2 but it will get a chance to claim back the spot.

But for that, they will have to blank their opponents 3- 0. England, on the other hand, will run up a lead of 10 points at the top of the table if they win by the same margin, cricket’s world governing body said in a release on Tuesday. CUMMINS BEGINS

MIND GAMES Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins on Tuesday made a “brave and bold” prediction: Virat Kohli will not score a hundred when Indian team plays a four- Test series Down Under later this year.

“My brave, bold prediction; I’d say I think Virat Kohli is not going to get a hundred and we're going to knock them off over here,” Cummins said at a Channel 7 event in Sydney.

Kohli averages 62 in the eight Tests he has played in Australia, more than his career average of 53.40.

He has five Test centuries to his name while playing in Australia.

Australian fast bowling great Glenn McGrath was present at the function alongside Cummins. McGrath predicted that Australia would blank India 4- 0.

He also wants to see the home team target Kohli. I want to see Australians put pressure on Kohli and just see how he handles it.

“It’s going to be a good, hard, tough series. Kohli has got a bit of an aggressive attitude, but showed last time he was out here he’s not going to take a backward step,” he said.

“If you get on top of them, the no. 1 player and their captain, it makes the job so much easier. If they can get on top of Kohli I think it can have a big effect on the game,” McGrath added.

India will be touring Australia for the 12th time this summer. They are yet to win a Test series in 11 attempts, having drawn in 1981, 1985 and 2003. India have won just five out of the 44 Tests.