Dubai: India would continue to remain at the top of the Test rankings irrespective of the results in the series but South Africa have an opportunity to catch up with Virat Kohli’s men if they sweep the series 3-0.
India currently have 124 rating points while second-placed South Africa have 111. The International Cricket Council (ICC) in a release confirmed that both India and South Africa would end up with 118 points each if the hosts win all the three matches of the series.
Even if Kohli and co get whitewashed, they would still be ahead of the Proteas and would be ranked no.1 courtesy decimal points. While India would have 118.47 points, South Africa would end up on 117.53.
But India, on the other hand would see their rating points increase from 124 to 128 of they win all the three Test matches of the series.
Guaranteed third-place finish for Australia
Australia, more or less through their dominant performance in the Ashes have assured for themselves the third position in the Test rankings. Currently, Steve Smith’s men lead the five-match series 3-0 and a win would help them finish third with 104 points. England, on the other hand have to win the match to avoid ending up in the fifth position.
A loss would mean that Joe Root and his men end with 99 points and hence, they would end up as the fifth ranked side. But a win for them would increase that point tally to 101, thereby helping them finish fourth in the rankings.
In the Test batsmen rankings, Kohli, who is currently second in the list, would aim for crossing the 900-point mark for the very first time in his career.
The 29-year-old right hander has been in terrific form of late and currently with 893 points, Kohli looks good to go past the 900-point tally which has been achieved by very few people in the history of the game. India’s no.3 in Tests, Cheteshwar Pujara currently holds the third position in the rankings with 873 points while Proteas batsman Hashim Amla is at the seventh place with 776 points.
In the rankings for Test bowlers, England’s James Anderson continues to hold the number one spot. However, he is closely followed by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and if he puts up a good performance in the series against India, then he might just surpass the Englishman to attain the top spot. The Indian spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are on the third and fourth spots with 870 and 829 points respectively.