World Cup champions Australia doubled its lead over second-ranked India in the International Cricket Council's One-Day International Team Rankings from six to 12 points while the West Indies, Bangladesh and Pakistan are locked in a tight struggle for the remaining two slots in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
Pace legend Waqar Younis is backing Pakistan to win the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year, saying the pitches Down Under could favour their potent bowling attack.
India, missing their top players, aim to punch above their weight and seal a memorable series victory against South Africa in the third and final ODI in New Delhi on Tuesday.
India will enter the Asia Cup as a seven-time champions, most by any team, but adding an eighth title might just not feature on top of their bucket list.
India will be keen to go one step ahead and claim the title that has eluded them
Since his return from a one-year ban, Steve Smith has been in incredible form, amassing runs also in the just-concluded three-match ODI series, giving strong competition to India skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 183 runs in the tournament to secure his spot as a top ODI batsmen in the ICC rankings.
This is Ravichandran Ashwin's sixth stint at the top of the rankings. He first became number one in December 2015.
India ODI captain Mithali Raj has slipped to the fifth spot.
India lost the No 1 ODI ranking after a 15-run defeat in a rain-truncated second One-Day International against New Zealand, in Hamilton, on Wednesday. The victory gave the Kiwis a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Having done exceedingly well to not just turn up but run roughshod over a hapless Zimbabwe on all fronts in the preceding two One-Day Internationals, India goes into the third and final match of the series knowing well that the script is unlikely to change when the teams meet again at the Harare Sports Complex on Monday.
The World Test Championship schedule has been thrown haywire by the COVID-19 pandemic and its much-awaited final next year will depend on the number of rescheduled bilateral series after the disruption, ICC GM (Cricket Operations) Geoff Allardice said on Monday.
Following India's T20I series loss to West Indies, former Indian pacer expressed disappointment with the team's performances, calling it a "very ordinary limited overs side"
Pakistan team's tour of Zimbabwe next month and a planned tri-series ODI tournament there have been called off after mutual understanding between the two countries.
Root, Williamson, Rizwan and Afridi nominated for ICC Men's Cricketer of Year
Dhoni's journey from a humble ticket collector to a trophy-laden wicketkeeper-batter is an inspiration for aspiring athletes worldwide
Suryakumar doesn't quite know what to do in ODIs but he is a freak in T20 cricket, says Nasser Hussain
Ricky Ponting chooses Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah among first five players of personal
Images from the ICC Women's World Cup match between India and South Africa in Christchurch on Sunday.
With only three balls remaining, Gulbadin Naib hit a six to clinch a narrow win and prompt delirious scenes in the Afghan capital, where heavily-armed cricket fans fired automatic rifles into the air.
All eyes will be on star India batter Virat Kohli, who is perhaps battling the biggest form crisis of his career.
Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav may get promotion in the annual central contracts list for the 2022-23 season.
Australia (296 points from 3 series) toppled India (360 points from 4 series) in the standings after the revision with a percentage of 82.22 compared to the latter's 75 per cent.
Pakistan will begin their campaign in the Asia Cup on Wednesday taking on Nepal
India have never won an ODI series in South Africa, having lost 5-2 in 1992-93, 4-0 in 2006- 07, 3-2 in 2010-11 and 2-0 in 2013-14.
India's newly-forged coach-captain combination of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav will look to make instant impact against a Sri Lankan team in disarray.
Brimming with confidence after a clean-sweep in the Test series, India will look to carry on their dominance over New Zealand when the two teams lock horns in the first cricket One-day International of the five-match series, in Dharamsala on Sunday.
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.
40 must know nuggets about the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
A complete look at Ganguly's career, accomplishments of legendary Indian batter
Temperamental Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur will only be able to play in the Asian Games if her team reaches the final of the mega event starting September 23 in Hangzhou.
While the whole country is clamouring for Team India to win the World Cup for master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, one cannot forget the contribution of Gary Kirsten, who will quit as coach after the mega-event.
Every player in this team is hungry for success: Babar Azam
Gayakwad said upcoming editions of the WPL will provide more match-time to the players.
With the Indian batting in disarray, Suresh Raina's recent good form gives the Selection Committee, meeting shortly to decide on the squad for the home series against Australia, food for thought.
Gayle said only three teams dominating the game can't be good for the game in the long run.
Marsh expects the series as well as the upcoming World Cup to be high-scoring affair.
Australia (69.98) returned to the top of the Rediff ODI rankings in emphatic fashion after retaining the recently-concluded ICC Champions Trophy. India (61.27) and South Africa (57.89) crashed dramatically after failing to reach the semi-finals, but still hold on to the second and third places.
India will need to win at least a game in the upcoming one-dayer series against Australia to retain their current second position in the ICC ODI Team Championships, even as second-placed Virat Kohli looks to close in on AB de Villiers in the batting chart. World champions Australia go head to head with former winner India in a five-match series in Perth on Tuesday. Australia (127) lead second-ranked India (114) by 13 points and even if they lose all the five matches of the series, they will drop points but still finish a point ahead of India.
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.
It is a tribute to a system so robustly meritocratic that this team represents India's diversity better than any other institution: The Union Cabinet, our chief ministers, the civil services, the leadership of our armed forces and security agencies, the judiciary and more than all of these, our typical newsroom. That is the biggest message from this breathless rise of Indian cricket, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances