India maintain top T20I ranking

DUBAI: ICC World Twenty20 2016 hosts India have held on to their No 1 position on the ICC T20I Rankings, after defeating Sri Lanka by 2-1 in a closely fought three-match series that concluded in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

The series win for India means they have 122 points, four more than second-ranked West Indies and five more than third-placed England.

Sri Lanka dropped behind England and New Zealand to fifth position, while South Africa (sixth), Pakistan (seventh) and Australia (eighth) complete the top half of the 16-team table.

With the ICC World Twenty20 India starting in less than four weeks, the top half of the table is extremely tight as only 12 points separate India from Australia. With South Africa and England to play two T20Is on February 19 and 21, any side winning both the matches will jump to the second position.

Ravichandran Ashwin earned 73 points which put him just eight points behind No 1 ranked Sunil Narine. Sachithra Senanayake of Sri Lanka is not too far behind as he moved ahead of Shahid Afridi into the third position.

Ravindra Jadeja climbed nine places to break into the top 10 for the first time in his career. The left-arm spinner is in the ninth position.  Aaron Finch reclaimed the top spot from Virat Kohli, who was not picked for the series.