Chance for England and India to grab 3rd spot in ICC Test team rankings

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni

India and England will be up against each other again when Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men play Alastair Cook’s team at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on July 9th.

The series that promises an exciting contest will also be crucial for both the teams as both have a chance to move up to occupy the third position in the ICC Test rankings. The last time when India toured England, the side lost its ‘numero uno’ position to Andrew Strauss led side and never really recovered from the hammering.

In case of a complete whitewash again (5-0), the side that fails to win a single match will slip to the seventh spot. India and England are currently fourth and fifth in the ICC ratings that is headed by Australia with 123 points.

Even if India wins the series by 1-0, they will jump to third position and if they go down by the similar margin they will drop two places to six.

No. 2 ranked South Africa will be facing Sri Lanka away from home and have a chance to topple the Australian side if they beat the island nation 1-0 in the two-match series that begins on the 16th of this month.

The latest ICC Test rankings as on 3rd of July:

#	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	Australia	32	3950	123
2	South Africa	23	2831	123
3	Pakistan	20	2064	103
4	India	23	2343	102
5	England	33	3301	100
6	Sri Lanka	25	2398	96
7	New Zealand	30	2787	93
8	West Indies	23	1710	74
9	Zimbabwe	8	322	40
10	Bangladesh	14	287	21