By IANS,
Dubai : India might have lost the Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s gutsy display with the bat has brought him close to regaining his No.1 spot in the one-day internationals as per the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings.
Dhoni, who reigned the one-day rankings for just a week in April 2006, is now only 19 points behind the South African captain Graeme Smith, who continues to lead the rankings for batsmen.
Dhoni made 327 runs in the tournament and was dismissed just twice in five innings with a strike-rate of 91. As a result, he has moved two rungs up in the ladder, displacing Sachin Tendulkar from the second position. Tendulkar, who missed the tournament because of a groin injury, has dropped four places to number six in the list.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who jointly shared the fourth spot with Dhoni and compatriot Michael Hussey last week, has climbed to the third position.
There is a new name at the top of the bowling list with Australia’s Nathan Bracken taking over the number one position from Daniel Vettori of New Zealand.
Bracken’s rise to number one in the bowler’s rankings comes because of an impressive series against the West Indies where he was the joint-leading wicket-taker with left-armer Mitchell Johnson with eight wickets in five matches.
Sri Lanka’s spin wizard’s Muttiah Muralitharan’s 11-wicket haul has seen him rise seven slots to seventh.
In all-rounders rankings, Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik remains at the top but a quiet Asia Cup for Shahid Afridi sees him drop two places to fourth and that means Jacob Oram and Jacques Kallis both move up one position and within touching distance of the first place.
Australia remains strong as the top team in the one-day ratings. Following their whitewash of the West Indies in their own backyard, the World Champions have moved two rating points clear of its nearest rival, South Africa. New Zealand are third followed by India, two points behind.