India aim for No 1 spot on T20I table
Dubai, Dec 19 (IBNS)
India is presented with a chance to go top of the Reliance ICC T20I Championship table if it wins all four matches scheduled to be played against England and Pakistan before the end of 2012.
India plays England in a two-match series starting Thursday in Pune and then squares off against its traditional rival Pakistan - also in a two-match series starting on 25 December in Bengaluru.
South Africa and New Zealand begin a three match series from 21 December with the opening game in Durban.
India is currently ranked third on the T20I Championship table with 120 ratings points. If India was to win all four matches, it will be propelled to the number-one rank with a gain of 12 ratings points and in doing so will open up a five points lead over current number-one ranked Sri Lanka.
This will be the first time that India will have a chance of aiming for the number-one spot on the T20I Championship table since it was launched in October 2011.
If India was to lose even one of its four matches, the best it can hope to end 2012 is at the number-two spot. But if India was to lose all four of its matches against both England and Pakistan, it could slip to as low as seventh with 106 ratings points.
England and Pakistan can hope to push up a place if they win their games against India.
Meanwhile, South Africa could rise up to number-two spot if it wins the series against the Black Caps 3-0. But the final positioning for South Africa will be determined by the outcomes of India's series against England and Pakistan.
The number-one ranked batsman on the Reliance ICC T20I Player Rankings table, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, will get an opportunity to consolidate his hold at the top.
Also in action will be the top ranked bowler Saeed Ajmal who will get a chance to open up the lead since his closest rival and second ranked Graeme Swann will be missing from the England squad.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez will be the highest-ranked all-rounder in action. Hafeez is currently ranked second behind Australia's Shane Watson.
The player rankings will now be updated on 29 December.
Upcoming fixtures
India v England
20 Dec - 1st T20I, Pune
22 Dec - 2nd T20I, Mumbai
South Africa v New Zealand
21 Dec - 1st T20I, Durban
23 Dec - 2nd T20I, East London
26 Dec -3rd T20I, Port Elizabeth
India v Pakistan
25 Dec - 1st T20I, Bengaluru
28 Dec - 2nd T20I, Ahmedabad
Reliance ICC T20I Championship (as on 19 December)
Rank Team Rating
1 Sri Lanka 127
2 West Indies 122
3 India 120
4 England 118
5 South Africa 117
6 Pakistan 116
7 Australia 108
8 New Zealand 97
9 Bangladesh 84
10 Ireland 82
11 Zimbabwe 44
Not ranked as fewer than eight T20I matches played since August 2010
Afghanistan 76
Netherlands 73
Scotland 67
Canada 11
Kenya 2
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC T20I Rankings (as on 19 December)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Pts Ave S/R HS Ranking
1 B McCullum NZ 817 36.00 134 849 v Ban at Pallekele 2012
2 Shane Watson Aus 799 30.62 148 832 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012
3 Chris Gayle WI 792 36.48 145 831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012
4 M Jayawardena SL 760 32.21 134 785 v Aus at Pallekele 2011
5 Suresh Raina Ind 741 33.39 136 776 v Eng at Kolkata 2011
6 Marlon Samuels WI 723*! 32.44 137 723 v Ban at Mirpur 2012
7 David Warner Aus 714 27.04 139 826 v WI at St Lucia 2010
8 Eoin Morgan Eng 712 36.09 132 872 v Ind at Old Trafford 2011
9 Kevin Pietersen Eng 709 37.93 142 882 v Aus at Barbados 2010
10 T Dilshan SL 692 28.89 123 802 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2009
11 Virat Kohli Ind 686* 38.58 129 714 v Pak at Colombo (RPS) 2012
12 K Sangakkara SL 678 30.00 121 763 v WI at Barbados 2010
13 Martin Guptill NZ 672 30.79 122 793 v SA at Hamilton 2012
14 JP Duminy SA 668 32.82 122 694 v Eng at Durham 2012
15 H Masakadza Zim 629* 26.59 117 652 v SL at Hambantota 2012
16 Jacques Kallis SA 624 35.05 119 738 v Eng at Durham 2012
17 Umar Akmal Pak 610 27.96 118 709 v Zim at Harare 2011
18 Gautam Gambhir Ind 600 27.83 121 723 v SL at Mohali 2009
19 Yuvraj Singh Ind 593 30.31 145 793 v SA at St Lucia 2010
20 Graeme Smith SA 570 31.67 128 778 v Zim at Kimberley 2010
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Ranking
1 Saeed Ajmal Pak 770 15.82 6.13 788 v NZ at Pallekele 2012
2 Graeme Swann Eng 750 16.84 6.36 760 v Pak at Cardiff 2010
3 Ajantha Mendis SL 747 10.76 5.74 762 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2012
4 N McCullum NZ 676 17.52 6.47 709 v Zim at Harare 2011
5 Johan Botha SA 674 22.24 6.37 733 v NZ at Auckland 2012
6 Shane Watson Aus 665 20.42 7.19 671 v Pak at Colombo (RPS) 2012
7 N Kulasekara SL 660! 25.48 7.33 660 v NZ at Pallekele 2012
8 Shahid Afridi Pak 656 21.16 6.22 814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009
9 M Hafeez Pak 655 22.71 6.71 662 v Eng at Dubai 2012
10 Dale Steyn SA 652 17.18 6.36 688 v WI at Antigua 2010
11 Abdur Razzak Ban 644 17.94 6.82 661 v Ire at Belfast 2012
12 Angelo Mathews SL 639! 24.23 6.42 639 v NZ at Pallekele 2012
13 Sunil Narine WI 638*! 18.37 6.16 638 v Ban at Mirpur 2012
14 Morne Morkel SA 631 17.84 6.72 646 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
15 Lasith Malinga SL 627 21.35 7.48 680 v Eng at Bristol 2011
16= Shakib Al Hasan Ban 625 22.70 6.88 658 v Ire at Belfast 2012
Stuart Broad Eng 625 23.18 7.34 672 v Pak at Cardiff 2010
18 Tim Southee NZ 620 25.47 8.41 628 v Pak at Pallekele 2012
19 Daniel Vettori NZ 619 19.45 5.61 850 v Aus at Wellington 2010
20 Trent Johnston Ire 610 19.86 6.26 633 v Ban at Belfast 2012
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 Shane Watson Aus 531 557 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012
2 M Hafeez Pak 350 353 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012
3= Chris Gayle WI 301/*! 301 v Ban at Mirpur 2012
Marlon Samuels WI 301*/*! 301 v Ban at Mirpur 2012
5 Shahid Afridi Pak 294 413 v NZ at Dubai 2009
6 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 259*/ 270 v Pak at Pallekele 2012
7 David Hussey Aus 241/* 350 v Ind at Melbourne 2012
8 Jacques Kallis SA 234/* 249 v Zim at Hambantota 2012
9 Angelo Mathews SL 231*/ ! 231 v NZ at Pallekele 2012
10 Dwayne Bravo WI 229 238 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2012