Kanpur: India will defend its number-two position on the ICC ODI Team Rankings when it takes on third-ranked South Africa in a five-match series, which starts in Kanpur, on Sunday, 11 October.
India leads South Africa by five points and needs to win two matches to avoid slipping behind the Proteas. A 4-1 win for South Africa will put it second on 113 points with India dropping to third on 112 points, but a 3-2 win for the tourists will mean India will retain second spot on 114 points and South Africa getting the consolation of reducing the gap with the host from five points to two.
On the other side of the coin, a 5-0 victory for India would see it advance to 119 points and narrow Australia’s lead at the top to eight points. In this scenario, South Africa slip behind New Zealand in fourth position on 107 points.
The following are the series permutations:
India (115 pts) v South Africa (110 pts)
- If Ind wins 5-0, then Ind 119 pts, SA 107 pts
- If Ind wins 4-1, then Ind 117 pts, SA 108 pts
- If Ind wins 3-2, then Ind 116 pts, SA 110 pts
- If SA wins 5-0, then Ind 110 pts, SA 115 pts
- If SA wins 4-1, then Ind 112 pts, SA 113 pts
- If SA wins 3-2, then Ind 114 pts, SA 112 pts
- If the series is drawn 2-2, then Ind 115 pts, SA 111 pts
