India aim to close gap on England in ODIs against Australia, New Zealand

The year 2019 will be crucial for all teams as it is a World Cup year. With the final Test, which is the New Year game finished in Sydney, India now have a chance to play only ODIs and build up momentum for the World Cup which will begin on May 31 in England. India will now play three ODIs against Australia beginning on January 12 followed by five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals against New Zealand beginning on January 23. This gives Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team the chance to close the gap against table-toppers England, who lead the table with 126 points while India are currently placed second with 121 points.

India can come within one point of England if they win the three ODIs against Australia and five ODIs against New Zealand. The Indian cricket team is dominating the batting and bowling charts in ODIs, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in first and second position respectively in the batting charts. Jasprit Bumrah, who took 21 wickets in the four Tests against Australia, is the No.1 ODI bowler in the latest ICC ODI rankings.

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However, India’s march to second spot can potentially be spoiled by Pakistan, who will play five ODIs against South Africa following the end of the Test series. However, they face a massive task as they will have to achieve a 5-0 whitewash of South Africa in order to climb to second spot. For the record, Pakistan have only beaten South Africa once in a bilateral ODI series and that was in 2013.

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In the ODI Team Rankings, New Zealand has retained third position after blanking the opposition. They have gained one point to move up to 113 while Sri Lanka remains in eighth position but have lost one point to drop to 78 points. Meanwhile, more sides will be looking to move up the rankings while also preparing for the ICC World Cup in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14, with 13 matches scheduled in a period of just over three weeks.   India will get a chance to close the gap with table leaders England, and South Africa of moving up from their fourth position.

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Kohli’s side would be aiming to take revenge on Australia and New Zealand after losing bilateral ODI series against both sides 1-4 and 0-4 in 2016 and 2014 respectively. Following the end of the series against New Zealand, India could play five ODIs at home against Australia before playing in the IPL before the World Cup.