Cricket

Sri Lanka closer to India in ICC Test rankings

Sri Lanka are creeping up on India after a 2-1 series win over their Asian neighbours in the ICC Test Championship released on Monday.

Sri Lanka leapfrogged England into fourth place and are now just one rating point behind third-placed India as the series result earned Mahela Jayawardena’s side five points but cost Anil Kumble’s men four ratings points. Sri Lanka now sit on 108 ratings points after starting on 103 while India slipped to 109 after entering the series on 113.

As Sri Lanka will not play any more Tests until May next year, they can only pin their hopes on Australia beating India. Ricky Ponting’s side will travel to India in October for a four-Test series and if Australia win the series 3-0, Kumble’s men will drop behind Jayawardene’s side by one rating point.
However, if India beat Australia by a similar margin, they will overtake South Africa into second place on 118 rating points and will trail Ricky Ponting and Co. by just nine points. India can further reduce that gap to seven points if they win the two-Test series against England later in December as a 2-0 win will take them to 120 points against Australia’s 127.

Meanwhile, South Africa retained their second place after defeating England by an identical margin in London on Monday. They earned one rating point for a 2-1 victory over England who dropped two points and slipped to 104, four behind Sri Lanka and four ahead of sixth-placed Pakistan. South Africa will now play Bangladesh in a two-Test series in November and a 2-0 win will earn them one point.

Tags: Australia, england, icc, ICC Test Championship, Idea Cup, Jayawardene, ricky ponting, South Africa, test rankings