Second place in Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship beckons for India

Two-match winning margin will push home side above SA and close gap on Australia; chance for Ponting and Hussey to go top of batting rankings while fast bowler Clark can overtake Muralidaran; Tendulkar seeks return to top 20

India can move to second place in the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table if it beats Australia by a margin of two Tests or more in the upcoming four-match series, which gets underway in Bangalore on 9 October.

Anil Kumble’s side currently lies in third position, seven ratings points behind South Africa and 29 points behind Australia. A series win of 4-0 would see India move ahead of Graeme Smith’s men and reduce the gap with the leader to just seven points.

Scorelines of 3-0, 3-1 or 2-0 would also be enough for India to claim second position and put pressure on Australia, which has been at the top of the ICC Test Championship table for more than five years.

A 1-0 or 2-1 win for India would leave it in third position but close the gap on the Proteas to just one ratings point and Australia would come back to the chasing pack by losing eight points. Such is the weighting of the rankings where it’s designed to be particularly tough at the top, a drawn series or even a narrow Australia win would see it lose points.

But Australia can widen the gap if it wins the series by two Tests or more. A 4-0 sweep would put Ricky Ponting’s men almost out of sight, 26 points clear of its nearest rival.

On the individual front, either of Ponting and team-mate Michael Hussey could go top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen if they put in high-class performances in the middle over the coming weeks.

At present, Hussey sits in third position, just eight ratings points behind West Indies left-hander and ICC Cricketer of the Year 2008 Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Ponting is just two points further back and he will be looking to turn around his previous form in India, which historically has not been up to the high standard of his play elsewhere in the world.

With Chanderpaul not currently in action, the way is clear for one of these Australia players to make his mark on the rankings while Matthew Hayden (seventh place) and Michael Clarke (13th) can also make moves in the right direction.

India currently has three batsmen in the top 20 with Virender Sehwag (10th), VVS Laxman (15th) and Rahul Dravid (16th) all capable of improving on their current positions.

Sachin Tendulkar is currently lying in 23rd position, his lowest ranking in 15 years. With several players ahead of him not in action, he can make a quick return to the top 20 with some solid performances against Australia.

On the bowling front, Australia’s Stuart Clark has a chance of displacing Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralidaran at the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers.

Murali has been a model of consistency throughout his career, averaging less than 22 across a career that has already lasted more than 16 years. He last slipped below the 800 ratings point mark way back in June 2000 and his career high of 920 puts him fourth in the all-time list. The 36-year-old from Kandy has been there since 28 February 2006 and it will take a monumental effort from Clark if he is to displace him now.

But the 33-year-old New South Welshman is enjoying the highest rating of his career to date and his confidence will be high after a successful tour to the West Indies earlier this year where he took 13 wickets in three matches at an average of 19.30.

Brett Lee is the other Australia fast bowler in the top five and he can push back up above the 800-point mark during this series. He will remember the part he played in Australia’s series victory over India on home turf earlier this year when he took 24 wickets – the most of any bowler on either side – and he’ll be anxious to replicate some of that form.

For its part, India has only one fast bowler in the top 20 in the shape of Zaheer Khan but on the spinning front things are much more healthy with Harbhajan Singh and captain Kumble in 12th and 10th places respectively. With that part of the rankings quite congested, expect to see plenty of movement one way or another during the series.

India v Australia Test series schedule:

9-13 Oct – first Test, Bangalore
17-21 Oct – second Test, Mohali
29 Oct-2 Nov – third Test, Delhi
6-10 Nov – fourth Test, Nagpur

Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship (as of 7 October, ahead of the series between India and Australia)

(Developed by David Kendix)

For more information on the ICC Player Rankings go to: www.iccreliancerankings.com.