ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be aiming for improvements in their rankings on the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table when they go head to head in a five-match series against Sri Lanka which starts in Pallekele on Thursday. Currently Sri Lanka which is fifth-ranked leads sixth-ranked Pakistan by five ratings points, says a press release issued here.
If Pakistan wins the series 4-1 or better, then it will move ahead of Sri Lanka into fifth position. In case of Pakistan's 4-1 series win, both sides will be on 108 ratings points but Pakistan will be ranked above Sri Lanka when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
Pakistan can even move to fourth if it wins all five matches of the series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies wins its series against England.
If Sri Lanka wins all five matches of the series then it will move ahead of England into fourth position on 114 ratings points, irrespective of the outcome of the three-match ODI series between England and the West Indies which starts at The Rose Bowl on 16 June.
If Sri Lanka wins 4-1 and England beats the West Indies 3-0, then both the sides will be on 113 ratings points but England will be ranked above Sri Lanka by a fraction of a point.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, Pakistan has only one batsman in Umar Akmal inside the top 20, in 10th position, while batsmen sitting outside the top 20 and inside the top 50 include Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq (30th), Mohammad Hafeez (40th), Shahid Afridi (41st) and Younus Khan (48th).
On the other side of the coin, Sri Lanka has three batsmen inside the top 20 with Kumar Sangakkara (fifth), Tillekeratne Dilshan (12th) and Mahela Jayawardena (18th).
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Pakistan boasts three bowlers inside the top 15 - Saeed Ajmal in second, Mohammad Hafeez in fourth and Shahid Afridi in 15th while Lasith Malinga is the home side's highest-ranked bowler in 22nd position.
Malinga is followed by Nuwan Kulasekara (30th), Angelo Mathews (48th), Rangana Herath (50th), Thisara Perera (57th) and Dilhara Fernando (85th).
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