India drop to fifth following series loss

India dropped two places in the ICC ODI rankings, following a 4-1 loss to the West Indies, a defeat that has also seen Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan suffer in the player rankings following below-par individual performances.

Before the series began, in third place, India had a chance to cut South Africa's lead above them to a single point if they won all five matches. That wasn't out of the question against a team ranked eighth and given India's own excellent form (18 wins from 24 matches) before the series. Four consecutive defeats, though, have seen India drop to fifth, allowing Pakistan and New Zealand to benefit without having played recently.

Dhoni began the series in second place for ODI batsmen, but 95 runs from five innings has seen him drop to fourth and his second place taken over by Ramnaresh Sarwan. Pathan also started the tour in second place in the bowling list, but six wickets in four matches has seen him slide to seventh, although there are relatively few rating points between many of the players in that top group.

Rahul Dravid has dropped out of the top 10, to 12th, but Virender Sehwag has moved into the top 20, up six places to 18th, Yuvraj Singh remains in 10th place and Mohammad Kaif is up eight spots to 46th position.

Ajit Agarkar, left out of the Test squad, has jumped back into the top 20 bowlers, rising eight places to 13th while Harbhajan Singh is also in that top 20, down one spot in joint 11th, with Makhaya Ntini.

Sarwan's 273 runs, including a hundred and two fifties, means he is closing the gap on Adam Gilchrist at the top and the jump follows his entry into the top 10 only last month, after a productive series against Zimbabwe. Chris Gayle is up three places to 11th position.

Ian Bradshaw has broken into the bowling top 10 for the first time, up nine places to eighth spot, and he is the first West Indies bowler to reach the top 10 since Reon King five years ago. Bradshaw is not the only West Indian bowler moving up: Gayle is up eight spots to 30th, Fidel Edwards climbs 17 places to 42nd, Marlon Samuels is up 24 places to 64th and Jerome Taylor has climbed 10 spots to 81st position.

The West Indies has not been able to improve, though, on its eighth position but have gained seven rating points because of the series win. They are now five points behind seventh-placed England in the table.