Sachin Tendulkar today jumped three places to third in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings after his record-breaking double-century against South Africa while India are almost assured of $75,000 for ending the calendar year at number two position in the championship table.
Tendulkar (766 points), who returned undefeated on 200 in his 442nd appearance at Gwalior yesterday, now trails second-placed Mike Hussey (809) of Australia by 43 points with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (827) strengthening his position at the top of the rankings after hitting a 35-ball 68 not out against South Africa in the second ODI.
It is Tendulkar's highest ranking in two years after he had reached second position following an unbeaten 117 against Australia in Sydney.
While Tendulkar has vaulted into third position, fellow opener Virender Sehwag has dropped one place to 10th position.
After missing a few matches, Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir also slipped one and two places respectively to be at 13th and 21st. A player loses 1% of his ratings points for every match missed.
In the bowlers list headed by New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, Harbhajan Singh is the only Indian at top 20 and the off-spinner retained his place at fifth.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship, India has all but cemented second position after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead against South Africa. It is now on 123 ratings points while South Africa has slipped to 115 ratings points.
