India claim numero uno spot in ICC rankings

Riding on their superb unbeaten run in the World Twenty20 Championships so far, the Indian cricket team toppled Sri lanka to clinch the top spot in the ICC rankings issued today.

"India has moved ahead of Sri lanka into the number-one position on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings Table," the ICC said in a statement.

India gained seven ratings points after remaining unbeaten in their group engagements in Bangladesh to finish on 130, bringing them on par with Sri lanka.

But when ratings were calculated beyond the decimal point, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side found itself ranked higher.

With both India and Sri lanka through to the semi-finals, both have a chance to either retain or reclaim the number-one position.

In the other change in the table, West Indies and Australia have swapped positions. West Indies are now ranked fifth with a gain of five ratings points and are now on 115. Australia, on the other hand, have moved down a place to sixth with a drop of five ratings points to end on 110.

In all, 13 of 16 teams ranked on the rankings table have featured in the tournament.

The tournament carries a total prize money of USD three million, with the winning side taking home USD 1.1 million and the runner-up collecting USD 550,000.

In the individual rankings, Virat Kohli has moved up a rung to be third in the latest list for batsmen, while R Ashwin has zoomed up 16 places to break into the top-10 at a career-high sixth.

West Indies' leg-spinner Samuel Badree has moved up a place to replace teammate Sunil Narine as the number-one ranked bowler in the latest Reliance ICC Player Ranking for T20I bowlers.

Badree is currently the third highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 scalps from four matches, at an average of nine and an economy rate of 5.62.

Badree's efforts have helped him gain 109 ratings points to finish on 855, 45 ratings points ahead of teammate Narine. Before the start of the tournament, Badree was behind Narine by just one ratings point.

England's Alex Hales has moved up a place to second in the rankings for batsmen.

Sri lanka's Kusal Perera and South Africa batsman JP Duminy have made it to the top 10 for the first-time ever.