
India leads South Africa by five points and needs to win two matches to avoid slipping behind the Proteas. A 4-1 win for South Africa will put it second on 113 points with India dropping to third on 112 points, but a 3-2 win for the tourists will mean India will retain second spot on 114 points and South Africa getting the consolation of reducing the gap with the host from five points to two.
The following are the series permutations:
India (115 pts) v South Africa (110 pts)
· If Ind wins 5-0, then Ind 119 pts, SA 107 pts
· If Ind wins 4-1, then Ind 117 pts, SA 108 pts
· If Ind wins 3-2, then Ind 116 pts, SA 110 pts
· If SA wins 5-0, then Ind 110 pts, SA 115 pts
· If SA wins 4-1, then Ind 112 pts, SA 113 pts
If SA wins 3-2, then Ind 114 pts, SA 112 pts
· If the series is drawn 2-2, then Ind 115 pts, SA 111 pts
Meanwhile, the top three batsmen in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen will feature in the series.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers holds a 73-point advantage over his compatriot and second-ranked Hashim Amla who, in turn, is 21 points clear of India’s Virat Kohli.
Apart from Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan (sixth) and Dhoni (eighth) are the other batsmen who represent the home side inside the top 10 and will be looking for upward movements during the series.
Outside the top 10, Rohit Sharma (15th), Faf du Plessis (17th) and Suresh Raina (18th), Quinton de Kock (23rd), David Miller (26th), JP Duminy (34th), Ajinkya Rahane (38th) and Ambati Rayudu (49th) will be aiming to improve their rankings.
In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir will need to put up strong performances during the series if he has to retain his number-one position. The wrist spinner leads Australia’s Mitchell Starc, with fifth-ranked Dale Steyn not too far behind.
Other bowlers looking to head in the right direction include Ravichandran Ashwin (ninth), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10th), Morne Morkel (11th), Umesh Yadav (24th), Amit Mishra (45th) and Mohit Sharma (48th).
Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan holds a commanding lead at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders and the highest-ranked all-rounder on either side heading into the series is ninth-placed Duminy.
Forthcoming matches:
India v South Africa
11 Oct – First ODI, Kanpur
14 Oct – Second ODI, Indore (d/n)
18 Oct – Third ODI, Rajkot (d/n)
22 Oct – Fourth ODI, Chennai (d/n)
25 Oct – Fifth ODI, Mumbai (d/n)
ICC ODI Championship table (as on 10 October, ahead of India-South Africa series):
Rank Team Points
1 Australia 127
2 India 115
3 South Africa 110
4 New Zealand 109
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 England 100
7 Bangladesh 96
8 West Indies 88
9 Pakistan 88
10 Ireland 49
11 Zimbabwe 47
12 Afghanistan 41
(Developed by David Kendix)
ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 10 October, ahead of India-South Africa series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 AB de Villiers SA 884 53.27 902 v NZ at Auckland 2015
2 Hashim Amla SA 811 54.30 901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012
3 Virat Kohli Ind 790 50.66 886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014
4 K. Williamson NZ 788 48.02 798 v SA at Centurion 2015
5 T. Dilshan SL 781 39.71 802 v Sco at Hobart 2015
6 S. Dhawan Ind 765 44.41 794 v SA at Melbourne 2015
7 Ross Taylor NZ 728 43.91 743 v Zim at Harare 2015
8 MS Dhoni Ind 723 52.24 836 v Aus at Delhi 2009
9 Glenn Maxwell Aus 717 34.88 724 v Pak at Adelaide 2015
10 Aaron Finch Aus 696 38.06 743 v Eng at Melbourne 2015
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
15 Rohit Sharma Ind 670 39.20 693 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
17 F. du Plessis SA 656 37.16 703 v NZ at Bay Oval 2014
18 Suresh Raina Ind 652 36.18 669 v Eng at Dharamsala 2013
23 Q. de Kock SA 630 37.22 749 v Aus at Sydney 2014
26 David Miller SA 612 36.35 635 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
34 JP Duminy SA 584 39.51 668 v Net at Mohali 2011
38 Ajinkya Rahane Ind 564 31.00 591 v UAE at Perth 2015
49 Ambati Rayudu Ind 534* 45.33 537 v Zim at Harare 2015
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Rating
1 Imran Tahir SA 723 21.67 4.36 735 v SL at Sydney 2015
2 Mitchell Starc Aus 713 19.65 4.85 783 v NZ at Melbourne 2015
3 Sunil Narine WI 709 26.49 4.10 791 v SL at Jamaica 2013
4 Trent Boult NZ 705* 24.08 4.64 738 v Eng at The Oval 2015
5 Dale Steyn SA 694 25.89 4.81 746 v Ind at Durban 2013
6 S. Al Hasan Ban 690 28.35 4.30 717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
7 M. Johnson Aus 672 25.26 4.83 724 v Ban at Darwin 2008
8 Saeed Ajmal Pak 655 22.73 4.18 810 v SA at Centurion 2013
9 R. Ashwin Ind 644 31.40 4.82 691 v SL at Hambantota 2012
10 B. Kumar Ind 639 34.71 4.55 657 v WI at Dharamsala 2014
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Rating
11 Morne Morkel SA 636 24.19 4.92 717 v SL at East London 2012
24 Umesh Yadav Ind 560 31.85 5.79 600 v Ban at Melbourne 2015
45 Amit Mishra Ind 494* 23.95 4.58 570 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013
48 Mohit Sharma Ind 487* 30.96 5.16 495 v Aus at Sydney 2015
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts S Rating
1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 418 453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
2 T. Dilshan SL 379 415 v Sco at Hobart 2015
3 Angelo Mathews SL 375 427 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014
4 M. Hafeez Pak 353 438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
5 Glenn Maxwell Aus 348 351 v Eng at Headingley 2015
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.
!indicates career-highest rating
The ICC ODI Rankings predictor function is available here. The ODI table is updated after each match.