India must win all three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Zimbabwe to retain their second place in the ODI rankings, an International Cricket Council (ICC) release said on Wednesday.
India face hosts Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series from Friday. Second-ranked India (115 points) lead 11th-ranked Zimbabwe (44) by 71 ratings, making them the overwhelming favourites to win the series 3-0, failing which India will drop down the list.
A 3-0 win for India will help them maintain their second ranked position with 115 points.
A 2-1 win for India will see them drop two points but maintain their second spot, and a 1-2 loss will mean India surrender four points and go down to fourth.
A 3-0 win for Zimbabwe will help them jump to 52 points, overtaking Ireland to the 10th spot, with India sliding to the fifth spot with 109.
ODI team rankings: (In order of rank, team, ranking points)
1 Australia 129 2 India 115 3 New Zealand 112 4 South Africa 112 5 Sri Lanka 106 6 England 98 7 Bangladesh 93 8 West Indies 88 9 Pakistan 87 10 Ireland 50 11 Zimbabwe 44 12 Afghanistan 41
IANS