India to cede second spot to Proteas

Even if India manage to win the next two Tests against Australia, they will lose the second place in the ICC Test rankings to South Africa.

India have conceded a 0-2 lead to Australia in the four-match series. If the series in Australia ends in a draw, then India and South Africa will be locked at 117 ratings points but the Proteas will be ranked ahead of India when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

If Australia wins 3-0, it will move to 110 ratings points, two behind India, while a 3-1 series win will mean India will drop to 113 ratings points while Australia will rise to 108 ratings points.

However, if Australia makes a clean sweep of the series, then both sides will be locked at 111 ratings points but India will still be ranked above Australia by a fraction of a point.

Sachin Tendulkar has dropped two places to sixth position and Rahul Dravid has fallen four spots to 15th position. VVS Laxman has dropped one place to 18th spot and Virender Sehwag has fallen out of the top 20, in 22nd position, after conceding four places.

But Australia captain Michael Clarke has rocketed his way into the top 10 for the first time in 15 months after his career-best unbeaten triple century.

Clarke scored 329 runs and jumped 12 places to eighth position. The skipper has also become his side’s highest-ranked batsman after leap-frogging Michael Hussey. Hussey has moved up four places to 12th position.