By IANS
Dubai : India captain Rahul Dravid made his way back among the top five batsmen in one-day internationals (ODI), climbing to fifth in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings released here Wednesday.
Dravid moved up eight places with 738 rating points while Mahendra Singh Dhoni slipped 10 places to languish at the 15th spot in the list headed by Australian skipper Ricky Ponting with 799 points.
The Indian captain’s contributions of 46, 92 not out and 56 in the first three ODIs of the seven-match series against England have continued what has been a good tour so far for the 34-year-old batsman.
He is now fast closing in on the highest rating of 754 points he achieved during the tour of the West Indies last year.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen is still in the second place with 782 points while Australians Mike Hussey (766) and Matthew Hayden (746) are third and fourth respectively.
Dhoni’s slide to 15th is the big surprise in the rankings. But with just 42 ratings points separating Hayden and Dhoni, with four ODIs to go against the Englishmen, there is plenty of opportunity for the Indian star to make amends.
England is also making its presence felt in the bowlers’ rankings with Andrew Flintoff back in the top ten and James Anderson in the top 20.
Following his five-wicket haul in the second ODI at Bristol, Flintoff has jumped five places to 10th while Anderson has moved up no fewer than 19 places to 14th having already claimed eight wickets in the three games so far.
They are still a long way behind the leader, South African Shaun Pollock, who is followed by Nathan Bracken of Australia and New Zealand’s Shane Bond in that order.
Flintoff’s exploits also see him climb three places to second in the all-rounders’ list as well, behind Pollock but ahead of Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka and the West Indies’ Chris Gayle.
Batsmen:
1. Ricky Ponting (Australia) 799 rating points
2. Kevin Pietersen (England) 782
3. Mike Hussey (Australia) 766
4. Matthew Hayden (Australia) 746
5. Rahul Dravid (India) 738
6. Graeme Smith (South Africa) 735
7. Adam Gilchrist (Australia) 729
8. Michael Clarke (Australia) 728
9. Andrew Symonds (Australia) 726
10. Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies) 724
Bowlers:
1. Shaun Pollock (South Africa) 874 rating points
2. Nathan Bracken (Australia) 794
3. Shane Bond (New Zealand) 790
4. Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) 741
5. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) 730
6. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) 697
7. Makhaya Ntini (South Africa) 687
8. Brett Lee (Australia) 686
9. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) 684
10. Andrew Flintoff (England) 658
All-rounders:
1. Shaun Pollock (South Africa) 473 rating points
2. Andrew Flintoff (England) 375
3. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 370
4. Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka) 368
5. Chris Gayle (West Indies) 366