Sport - Cricket   

Draw can take India to fifth place

London Dec. 2. India, currently sixth in the official ICC Test table, could replace its nearest rival Pakistan if it draws the four-match series against Australia starting at the Gabba, Brisbane on Thursday.

India stands to gain five points from a series draw and will move up to 100 points from the present 95 to take the fifth place in the rating. Even losing the series by a one Test margin will boost India's rating to 97, only one point behind Pakistan, the ICC said in a statement here on Tuesday.

While many agree that it's definitely not going to be thunder in Down Under for India, the ICC does paint a picture that promises to take the breath away of both supporters and critics alike - a 3-0 or 4-0 win for India would catapult it to third place.

Meanwhile, Australia needs to win the series 4-0 to improve its rating.

Such is Australia's dominance of Test cricket - it has lost only three matches in the last two years - that it must win all four of its matches against India to increase its rating from 130 to 132, the statement added.

This would increase its advantage over second placed South Africa to an unprecedented 21 points.

If Australia wins the series 3-0 it will maintain its current rating while anything less will cause it to fall. Even if Australia loses all four matches it will still hold on to top spot but its rating will slump to 119.

The list (read under position, country, rating): 1 Australia 130; 2 South Africa 111; 3 England 104; 4 New Zealand 104; 5 Pakistan 98; 6 India 95; 7 Sri Lanka 91; 8 West Indies 83; 9 Zimbabwe 56; 10 Bangladesh 0. — UNI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

Cricket

• India `A' bowlers have the last laugh
• Can the Indians buck the trend?
• Giles puts Lanka on the backfoot
• Draw can take India to fifth place
• Maharashtra fights back
• Mazumdar hits hundred
• Sharath completes century; Tamil Nadu makes 372
• Railways back on track
• N.P. Singh wrecks Karnataka
  
  Tennis
  
• Somdev stops Qureshi's run
  
  Squash
  
• Vora, Harinderpal advance in qualifying round
  
  Table Tennis
  
• Soumyajit, Swarna triumph
  
  Volleyball
  
• Karnataka women enter quarterfinal league
  
  

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu