Languishing at the bottom of ICC ODI team ranking, Pakistan have set sight on direct qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup when they take on the in-form reigning world champions and number-one ranked Australia in a five-ODI series starting in Brisbane on Friday.
Sri Lanka huffed and puffed to a three-wicket win over New Zealand in the second ODI of the cricket tri-series and helped India reclaim the second spot in the ICC ODI team rankings, in Dambulla on Friday.
India and England managed to retain top spots in the Test and ODI team rankings respectively, following the annual update of the ICC rankings on Thursday.
India, who were at the top before the update, have lost a solitary point and are in second place with a total of 122 points.
England still top team in ODIs, but only just
West Indies, who have 78 points in the ODI team rankings, cannot now overtake Sri Lanka (86 points) ahead of the September 30 cut-off for automatic qualification regardless of how they do in the remaining four games.
Having pocketed the series 4-1, with a match still to go, India snatch ICC ODI top rank from Proteas
'The confidence and the momentum of that definitely helps. It just makes you raise your own bar of performance, you want to be a better player. My challenge to myself was to be a good player and now it's to become a great player. So it's just about lifting the bar and making a mind shift'
Big gains for Chahal and Kuldeep in bowler rankings
Australia dethroned India from the top position of the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings after its 4-1 victory over South Africa in the five-match series which concluded in Sydney.
With three back-to-back series wins, India deserved to be the number one side in the ICC ODI rankings former captain Sourav Ganguly has said.
Top-ranked South Africa lost their three-match series to England 2-1 but former ICC U-19 World Cup star Rabada's haul of four for 39 in the final match at Lord's on Monday helped him finish the series with seven wickets and become the youngest number-one bowler since Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq in 1998.
While Bumrah, who has a lead of 20 points over Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, will hope to continue to hold on to his numero uno status, spinners Kuldeep Yadav (sixth) and Yuzvendra Chahal (joint-ninth) too will look to consolidate position in the top 10.
South Africa's batsmen were strangled by India's wrist spinners, slumping to 134-5 with Kuldeep Yadav the pick of the bunch.
India are placed fifth while three-time champions Australia lead the 46-team table as the International Cricket Council (ICC), on Friday, launched global Women's T20I Team Rankings.
India maintained their status as the only unbeaten side left in this tournament.
Shikhar Dhawan, who was highest run-getter with 342 runs, gained four slots to reach fifth position.
The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side, which lost a closely contested series 2-3 before heading into the Test matches, were 13 points behind leaders Australia (127 rating points) in the ODI table.
India gained five points to move up to third place with South Africa maintaining its pole position in the latest International Cricket Council ODI team rankings.
India will enter the 11th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup in second spot behind leaders Australia.
On the ICC ODI Team Rankings, No.1 ranked Australia has moved up from 118 points to 120 points, while New Zealand has dropped behind India in fourth position. New Zealand had started the series on 112 points, but the 3-0 defeat has meant it has dropped to 109 points.
Pakistan cricketers see big jump in personal rankings too, Rohit, Bumrah also climb atop the leaderboard
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
Currently placed at number three behind South Africa and Australia, India have an opportunity to jump to the top in the ICC ODI team rankings if they win the upcoming five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka 4-1 or better.
India captain Virat Kohli is the lone cricketer from the country to feature in the top 10 of the ICC Players Rankings for One-Day Internationals as he managed to hold on to his third spot in the batsman's chart.
Sunday night's dramatic one-run victory in Abu Dhabi and the cancellation of the third ODI between India and the West ensured top billing for George Bailey's side as the race to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 heats up amongst some of the top-ranked sides.
Two-time world champions West Indies will be the star attraction when 10 teams battle it out at next month's ICC Cricket World Cup qualifier for the two remaining places at the mega-event in 2019.
India's R Ashwin back in top-10 in ICC's ODI bowling rankings
Australia regained the prestigious ICC Test mace and also won a cash award of $1million after beating New Zealand in the Christchurch Test by seven wickets and winning the series 2-0 on Wednesday. Australia finished two points ahead of India with 112 points in the final series before the April 1 cut-off date.
Good times are here for the Men in Blue! Their dominating performance against England coupled with Australia's shock loss to Zimbabwe made India the sole No 1 team in the latest ICC ODI rankings issued in Dubai.
Reigning champion India will be bidding to gain further momentum and become only the third side in World Cup history to successfully defend its title after West Indies in 1975 and 1979 and Australia, who won the coveted prize three times in succession between 1999 and 2007.
There was large demand for India vs Pakistan, England vs Australia and the final, all of which were oversubscribed at every price band.
Two Indian batsmen are now in the top five of the ICC ODI rankings, with Virat Kohli remaining at number three and opener Shikhar Dhawan climbing up the ladder to fifth after earning four places in the latest list issued on Wednesday.
India will launch its ICC Champions Trophy title defence against traditional rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on June 4, 2017.
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are India's highest-ranked batsman and bowler in third and 13th positions respectively.
India captain Virat Kohli reclaimed the top batting spot, while Australia's pace ace Josh Hazlewood has achieved the number-one position in the bowlers' rankings for the first time in his career in the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings.
The battle for the final two available places in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will hot up when Bangladesh squares off against South Africa in the opening match of the three-One-Day International series in Mirpur on Friday and Sri Lanka hosts Pakistan in the first of five matches in Dambulla on Saturday.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
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