Sachin jumps to 3rd in ICC ODI Rankings

Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar has jumped to the third spot in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen after belting out the first ever ODI double-century in the second match against South Africa in Gwalior.

Tendulkar, who returned undefeated on 200 in his 442nd one-dayer yesterday, climbed up three places and now trails second-placed Mike Hussey of Australia by 43 points.

It is Tendulkar's highest ranking in two years. He had earlier reached the second position following an unbeaten 117 against Australia in Sydney.

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni strengthened his position at the top of the rankings after scoring an unbeaten 68 runs off just 35 balls.

However, while Tendulkar vaulted into third position, his fellow opener Virender Sehwag has dropped one place to the 10th spot.

Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir have also slipped in the latest rankings after missing the first two ODIs due to injuries. A player loses one per cent of his ratings points for every match missed and as such, Yuvraj has fallen one place to the 13th spot while Gambhir has dropped two places to the 21st spot, a position he shares with team-mate Virat Kohli.

AB de Villiers remains South Africas highest-ranked batsman in fourth position after stroking an unbeaten 114 in Gwalior while Australian skipper Ricky Ponting completes the top five.

But the rankings for bowlers will come as a severe disappoint for Indian fans since off-spinner Harbhajan Singh at sixth position is the only Indian among the top 20.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is the top ranked ODI bowler with Ray Price of Zimbabwe at second place.
Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara and Kyle Mills of New Zealand are the others in the top five.