India still second in ICC rankings, players better positions

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The number one tag still eludes them but newly-crowned world champions India have closed the gap on top-placed Australia even as the team's in-form players moved up in the individual standings of the latest ICC ODI rankings issued on Monday.

India (121) are now just seven points behind Australia, even though Micheal Clarke's men have the chance to increase the lead over the 2011 champions as they have a three-match series against Bangladesh starting next week.

World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka have remained third but with an increase in ratings points of two, taking Kumar Sangakkara's side to 118 points, while South Africa sit in fourth, the ICC said in a statement.

In the individual rankings, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have moved up. Tendulkar has risen a place to ninth while Gambhir's hard-fought 97 runs against Sri Lanka in the final of the World Cup has seen the 29-year-old rise four places to 10th.

Sri Lanka's Tillekeratne Dilshan has risen to his career best ranking to date and is occupying the third position on the rankings after scoring the most runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – a total of 500.

Sangakkara still occupies the fourth place while India's Yuvraj Singh, the Player of the World Cup, remained in joint 17th place with Australia captain Ricky Ponting, the latter having risen six places.

Other batsmen moving in the right direction include England's Jonathan Trott in fifth (up by four places), South Africa's Jacques Kallis in 12th (up by three places), Ross Taylor in 19th (up by one place), Upul Tharanga in 26 (up three places), Mahela Jayawardena in 28th (up by three places), India's Suresh Raina in 31st place (up by four places), Misbah-ul-Haq in 36th place (up by three places) and Jesse Ryder in 42nd (up by 13 places).

South African duo of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers continue to occupy the top two positions.

In the rankings for ODI bowlers, Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis is one of the big movers with the spin bowler rising nine places to take the eighth place, a position he last occupied in 2009.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has climbed five places to ninth, while India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has risen two places to sit 18th on the list.

Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal has rocketed up nine places to 20th, while just outside the top-20 Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga has risen three places and is now sitting in joint 25th position with South Africa's Johan Botha.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori leads Zimbabwe's Ray Price by 23 ratings points with England's Graeme Swann in third and South Africa's Dale Steyn in fourth.

The only change in the top five of the all-rounders list is the drop of South Africa's Jacques Kallis to fifth and the ascension of Yuvraj to the fourth place.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan leads the field with Shane Watson of Australia in second, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi in third.