Pakistan will challenge Sri Lanka for fourth place
Chris Dhambarage Reporting from Galle
Pakistan will challenge Sri Lanka for the fourth place in the
International Cricket Council Test Championship table when their three
match series gets underway at the Galle International Stadium today.
The visiting team is currently placed in the sixth place with a total
of 100 ratings points, one ratings point behind fifth-placed England and
eight ratings points behind fourth-placed Sri Lanka.
However, a 1-0 or a 2-1 series win for Younis Khan's side will be
enough to put it on 105 ratings points alongside Sri Lanka but ahead of
Kumar Sangakkara's side when the ratings are calculated beyond the
decimal point.
If the series ends in a 1-1 draw, Pakistan will join England on 101
ratings points but will be placed ahead of England in fifth place by a
fraction of point while Sri Lanka will go to 107 ratings points. If Sri
Lanka wins the series 1-0, it will go to 110 ratings points while
Pakistan will drop to 97 ratings points.
If Sri Lanka wins the series 2-0, it will go to 111 ratings points
while Pakistan will drop to 95 ratings points.
If Sri Lanka wins the series 3-0, it will go to 113 ratings points,
just four ratings points behind third-placed India, while Pakistan will
slip to 93 ratings points and just eight ratings points ahead of
seventh-placed West Indies.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, Younis Khan is in
number-one position and will be aiming to become the 25th batsman in
history to reach the 900-point mark.
The 31-year-old right-handed batsman is just 20 points short of
becoming the second Pakistan batsman after Mohammd Yousuf to achieve the
rare distinction.
Younis had first gone to the top of the batting chart after scoring
313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February before regaining the
number-one position from Shivanarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies in
May.
Conversely, if Younis fails to perform to his high standards and at
the same time second-placed Kumar Sangakkara excels with the bat, there
is a possibility that there might be a change at the top of the order as
26 points separates the two elegant and stylish batsmen.
The other batsmen from either side in the top 20 and aiming for an
upward movement are Mahela Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera who
currently occupy sixth position and 19th positions respectively while
just outside the top 20 are Tillakaratne Dilshan (24th), Kamran Akmal
(28th) and Misbah-ul-Haq (30th).
The ICC Test championship rankings:
(1) Australia
(2) South Africa
(3) India
(4) Sri Lanka
(5) England
(6) Pakistan
(7) New Zealand
(8) West Indies
(9) Bangadesh
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