India in three-way race for second spot

DUBAI: India are locked in a tight three-way contest with Australia and England for the second position in the ICC Test Championship table while batting sensation Cheteshwar Pujara has, for the first time, broken into the top 10 of the Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

ICC Test Rankings: Team | Batsmen | Bowlers | All-Rounders

The three sides are currently separated by 13 ratings points on the Championship table which will be updated at the conclusion of India-Australia and New Zealand-England Test series on March 26 and will also reflect results from West Indies-Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka-Bangladesh series.

England's hard-fought draw means it still needs to win the series against New Zealand to seal second place. However, if New Zealand draws or wins the series against England, it could potentially open the door for both Australia and India.

If New Zealand wins or draws the series, then India will claim the second spot if it wins the remaining two Tests against Australia.

On the other side of the coin, if New Zealand wins or draws the series and Michael Clarke's side bounces back to level the series, then Australia will move ahead of England in second spot.

South Africa has already sealed its position as the number-one ranked Test side at the April 1 cut-off date, which means it has not only retained the Test mace but has also been assured of a reward of $450,000.

But a further $750,000 is still up for grabs. This money will be distributed to teams that will finish second ($350,000), third ($250,000) and fourth ($150,000) on the Championship table at the cut-off date.

Meanwhile, India's man-of-the-moment, Pujara has made his foray into the top-10 of the batting chart with 740 rating points.

Pujara, 25, scored his second Test double-century (204) to claim the Man-of-the-Match award after the completion of the second Test against Australia and has moved a rung to be No 10.

Of the other Indians, Sachin Tendulkar is static at 19th position in the ranking chart.

The batting table is still headed by South Africa's Hashim Amla with Australia captain Michael Clarke in second place.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha are placed at 8th and 9th positions respectively.

The bowling chart is still headed by South Africa's Dale Steyn with his teammate Vernon Philander in second place and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal in third place.

Upcoming fixtures: West Indies v Zimbabwe 1st Test: Bridgetown (Barbados), March 12-16 (ongoing) 2nd Test: Roseau (Dominica), March 20-24

England v New Zealand 2nd Test: Wellington, March 14-18 3rd Test: Auckland, March 22-26

Sri Lanka v Bangladesh 2nd Test: Colombo (RPS), March 16-20

India v Australia 3rd Test: Mohali, March 14-18 4th Test: Delhi, March 22-26.

Share it Please

Tweet

Shweta Pandey

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation.