Australia regained their numero uno status in one-day internationals after winning the first ODI of the five-match series against South Africa in Durban, according to the latest ICC rankings released here on Saturday.Australia had surrendered the top position to the Proteas after stand-in South Africa captain Johan Botha inspired his side to a 4-1 victory Down Under earlier this year. However, South Africa (123) still have a chance to finish the series as No.1 if they win the ongoing series 3-2 or better.On the other hand, Australia (125) need to keep the momentum going and win the series 3-2 or better if they have to return home with the number one tag, while a 4-1 victory will put them with 127 ratings points and will drop South Africa to the third position behind India, who currently have 122 points.
Riding on Mike Hussey's unbeaten 83, Ricky Ponting's men on Friday defeated the Proteas by 141 runs at Kingsmead, Durban.England's 3-2 victory over the West Indies has earned Andrew Strauss' side one ratings point as it closes the gap with fifth-placed Pakistan to just three. West Indies are in eighth position on 92 points.Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar vaulted two places to 11th spot, gathering 703 points with an average of 44.37, in the ODI batsman rankings, which is led by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.Dhoni retained the top slot with 815 points in his kitty, while left-hand batsman Yuvraj Singh (5th), Virender Sehwag (7th) and Gautam Gambhir (17th) slipped down by one rung each, the ICC release said.
Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, who figures 15th after sliding down by one step, is the only Indian among the top-twenty ODI bowlers. Zaheer has an economy rate of 4.86.The bowlers' list is headed by Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara.Yuvraj with 340 points maintains his fourth place in the list of top-five all-rounders, which has Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh at the top.
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