Rare chance for India to be No. 1 again

India need to sweep Sri Lanka 5-0 to regain the top position.

Dhoni and Jayawardene pose with their prize in Colombo July 18, 2012.

India have had a horror run in international cricket lately, but the world champions have the chance to end Australia’s reign as the No. 1 team in one-day internationals.

MS Dhoni’s boys are currently placed fourth, but can leapfrog straight to the first space if it sweeps Sri Lanka 5-0 in the upcoming series in the island nation.

The World Cup finalists will play five ODIs and a T20 starting July 21. [See series schedule]

India were briefly No. 1 in ODIs in 2009, a position they lost swiftly and have not been able to reclaim despite their World Cup win in 2011. Australia have held the position since then despite being a shadow of the champion side they were once.

Australia, led by Michael Clarke, had a disastrous ODI tour of England where they lost 4-0. This has tightened the ranking table. The top four teams are within two points of each other: Australia at 119, South Africa and England at 118 and India at 117.

The rankings as of July 19, 2012:

Rank   Team                          Rating
1          Australia                    119
2          South Africa              118
3          England                      118
4          India                           117
5          Sri Lanka                   112
6          Pakistan                     103
7          West Indies                87
8          New Zealand              83
9          Bangladesh                67
10        Zimbabwe                  46
11        Ireland                        36
12        Netherlands               15
13        Kenya                         8

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