Dubai, August 1: World Champions India slipped one place to third in International Cricket Council (ICC) One-day International championship table released on Monday.
India's slide in the rankings can be attributed to their performance in the past 12 months. India lost nine ODIs, including the last two ODIs against eighth ranked West Indies and one in the group stages of World Cup, and has a win-loss ratio that is poorer than World Cup finalists Sri Lanka and quarter-finalists Australia and South Africa.
The rankings give equal weight to all ODIs played over the year, with no extra points for performances in the World Cup.
Australia have retained the top spot while Sri Lanka are second.
Australian captain Michael Clarke Monday said his team is determined to maintain their lead in the rankings.
“This Australian side is extremely proud to be ranked the number one one-day side in the world. However, we realise there is some significant work to be done if this is to remain the case,” said Clarke, who is leading the side in Sri Lanka at the moment.
“Being knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage was very disappointing and our group has already started its planning to reclaim the title on our home shores,” he said.
“This summer in Australia will be a great stepping stone towards this aim as we take on World Cup champions India and runners-up Sri Lanka in a return of the tri-series competition throughout Australia.”
The annual rankings update is carried out to ensure the ODI Championship table continues to reflect recent form. As such, the new table only includes results from matches played after August 1, 2009, with older results from betweenAugust 1, 2008 - July 31, 2009, being discarded.
The No 1 ranked side in the ODI Championship on April 1, 2012, will receive $175,000, while the second placed side will earn $75,000.
