Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Calcutta: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still at the top of Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, according to an ICC media release.

The India captain is followed by Michael Hussey of Australia and South Africa skipper Graeme Smith. The other two Indian batsmen in top 20 are Yuvraj Singh (sixth) and Sachin Tendulkar (12th). The West Indies have three batsmen — Shivnarine Chanderpaul (fourth), Chris Gayle (fifth) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (13th) — in the top 20, while the highest-ranked New Zealand batsman is Ross Taylor in the 29th position.

Zaheer Khan (11th) and Harbhajan Singh (20th) are the two Indian bowlers in top 20.

New Zealand can climb one place to fourth in the championship table but could drop to as low as eighth when they take on the West Indies in the five-match one-day International series starting in Queenstown on Wednesday.

Daniel Vettori’s side are currently in the fifth place on 113 points and a 5-0 series win will put them ahead of Pakistan in the fourth place on 118 points. A 4-1 series win will also be enough for the Black Caps to improve upon their current standing.

However, if Gayle’s team wins 5-0, New Zealand will concede 11 points and the West Indies will gain 11. That will put both the teams level on 102 points but the West Indies will be placed higher than the Black Caps in the seventh place when ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

If New Zealand win 3-2, they will concede two points but will stay ahead of sixth-placed England while the West Indies will rise to 93 points. If the West Indies win 3-2, New Zealand will drop below England to the sixth place. In contrast, the West Indies will stay in eighth place but will jump to 96 points.

If the West Indies win 4-1, New Zealand will fall behind Sri Lanka in the seventh place on 105 points while the West Indies will rise to 99 points.

In the bowlers’ rankings, Vettori has top-ranked Nathan Bracken of Australia firmly within his sights. A good series for the left-arm spinner can potentially help him regain the top spot.

Besides Vettori, fast bowler Kyle Mills (fifth) and Jacob Oram (eighth) will also be eyeing an upward movement. For the West Indies, Fidel Edwards (eighth) and Daren Powell (19th ) are in top 20 and will be hoping to make a charge up the ladder.

Oram leads the field for allrounders and will be hoping to consolidate his position ahead of England’s Andrew Flintoff. Rival captains Gayle is third while Vettori is 12th.

RANKINGS

TEAMS
1. Australia, 2. South Africa, 3. India, 4. Pakistan, 5. New Zealand, 6. England, 7. Sri Lanka, 8. West Indies, 9. Bangladesh, 10. Ireland, 11. Zimbabwe, 12. Kenya.

BATSMEN
1. M.S. Dhoni (Ind), 2. M. Hussey (Aus), 3. G. Smith (SA), 4. S. Chanderpaul (WI), 5. C. Gayle (WI), 6. Y. Singh (Ind), 7. R. Ponting (Aus), 8. K. Pietersen (Eng), 9. Md. Yousuf (Pak), 10. A. Symonds (Aus)

BOWLERS
1. N. Bracken (Aus), 2. D. Vettori (NZ), 3. M. Muralidharan (SL), 4. M. Johnson (Aus), 5. K. Mills (NZ), 6= S. Broad (Eng), 7. S. Tanvir (Pak), 8= J. Oram (NZ), Jerome Taylor (WI), 10. A. Flintoff (Eng)

ALLROUNDERS
1. J. Oram (NZ), 2. A. Flintoff (Eng), 3= C. Gayle (WI), S. Malik (Pak), 5. J. Kallis (SA)