Dhoni jumps one place to 4th, India sixth in ODI team championship

Dubai, May 24 (UNI) Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained the only Indian among top ten batsmen while India breath down Sri Lanka's neck in team championship in the latest LG ICC ODI rankings issued today.

Man of the series in Bangladesh, Dhoni gain one place to move up to fourth in the batsmen's list headed by Kevin Pietersen of England.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting and his team mate Mike Hussey retain the second and third places while another Aussie Matthew Hayden jumps one place to fifth.

Sri Lanka World Cup captain Mahela Jayawardene was among biggest movers, up six places to 13th.

Meanwhile, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is on his way back to his best following an excellent ODI series against Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi.

The 27-year-old has moved into the top 20 among ODI bowlers following a stellar performance in the second ODI at Sheikh Zayed Stadium against the World Cup finalists.

He also moves up to seventh in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, having made a quick-fire 73 not out in the first ODI off just 34 balls. It is his highest ranking in that category since 2002 when he was twice briefly ranked sixth.

The 2-1 series win for Pakistan also saw them overtaking Sri Lanka into fourth place of the LG ICC ODI Championship and are now just two ratings point behind third-placed New Zealand.

India, too, is showing signs of recovery following a disappointing World Cup as Rahul Dravid's team is putting pressure on Sri Lanka in fifth spot.

Australia is still out in front, followed by South Africa in second position. The table remains quite congested further down with just nine ratings points separating the Black Caps in third and England in seventh spot.

LG ICC ODI Championship: 1. Australia (130); 2. South Africa (124); 3. New Zealand (113); 4. Pakistan (111); 5. Sri Lanka (110); 6. India (107); 7. England (104); 8. West Indies (99); 9. Bangladesh (45); 10. Ireland (29); 11. Zimbabwe (22); 12. Kenya (0).

LG ICC ODI Batsmen Rankings: 1. Kevin Pietersen (Eng) 827; 2. Ricky Ponting (Aus) 799; 3. Mike Hussey (Aus) 766; 4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) 761; 5. Matthew Hayden (Aus) 746, Ramnaresh Sarwan (WI) 746; 7. Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) 740, Graeme Smith (SA) 740; 9. Adam Gilchrist (Aus) 729; 10. Michael Clarke (Aus) 728; LG ICC ODI Bowlers Rankings: 1. Shaun Pollock (SA) 897; 2. Nathan Bracken (Aus) 794; 3. Shane Bond (NZ) 790; 4. Chaminda Vaas (SL) 753; 5. Muttiah Muralitharan (SL) 741; 6. Daniel Vettori (NZ) 697; 7. Makhaya Ntini (SA) 694; 8. Brett Lee (Aus) 686; 9. Abdur Razzaq (Ban) 673; 10. Andre Nel (SA) 662; LG ICC All-rounders Rankings: 1. Shaun Pollock (SA) 459; 2. Jacques Kallis (SA) 396; 3. Chris Gayle (WI) 381; 4. Andrew Flintoff (Eng) 373; 5. Santah Jayasuriya (SL) 360; UNI