Australia displace India as top ODI team

Four-time World Champion Australia Sunday returned to the top of the One-Day International (ODI) Team Rankings, displacing India, after defeating South Africa 4-1 in a five-match series, as per the latest International Cricket Council release.

Australia started the series in third position on 114 ratings points but equalled India's 117 points, claiming the top spot by 0.2 points when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

Australia moved five ratings points clear of South Africa, which dropped one place to third after the defeat in the series, which concluded in Sydney Sunday.

South Africa moved ahead of Australia last month, following its 2-0 victory over New Zealand.

Australia next are scheduled to participate in a Jan 16 - Feb 1 triangular series with India and England, starting in Melbourne.

With just one ranking point separating them, fourth-placed Sri Lanka hosts fifth-ranked England in a seven match series, starting in Colombo Wednesday. Bangladesh are currently playing against Zimbabwe in a five-match series.

The Rankings:

1 Australia 117

2 India 117

3 South Africa 112

4 Sri Lanka 108

5 England 107

6 Pakistan 98

7 New Zealand 96

8 West Indies 96

9 Bangladesh 71

10 Zimbabwe 56