The Asia Cup's Super Four defeat against Bangladesh cost India a golden chance to rule the rankings charts across formats.
Before the Asia Cup clash against Bangladesh on Friday, 15 September, India held the No.2 position on the MRF Tyres ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings with 116 rating points, just slightly trailing top-ranked Australia, who led with 118 points.
India, currently dominating the Test and T20I rankings, had a golden opportunity to claim the top spot in ODIs if two conditions had been met: defeating Bangladesh in the Super Four clash of the Asia Cup and having South Africa emerge victorious against the top-ranked Australia in the penultimate ODI of their five-match series.
However, only one of the two scenarios went India's way with the Proteas claiming a massive 164-run victory over Australia while India suffered a narrow defeat against Bangladesh, falling short by just six runs.
World Cup Upsets: India v Bangladesh | CWC 2007
The loss to Bangladesh not only resulted in India missing out on a chance of holding pole position across formats, they slipped to No.3 in the rankings table with 114 rating behind Pakistan and Australia.
Both, Australia and Pakistan are currently separated by a narrow rating margin with Australia having a rating of 115.259 and Pakistan on No.2 with a rating of 114.889.
Even if Australia lose their final ODI to South Africa and India become the Asia Cup champions on Sunday (September 17), India would still not claim the No.1 ranking. However, in such a scenario where Australia lose, it would open the door for Pakistan to ascend to the top spot.
The tussle for the top spot will continue as India host Australia in a three-match ODI series starting 22 September. The series will not only help the two teams build momentum going into the World Cup but also decide who will be the #1 ODI side going into the World Cup.
It has been a scramble at the top of the ODI Team Rankings lately with India, Pakistan and Australia all in contention for the top spot during the Asia Cup and Australia's ODI series against South Africa.
Pakistan, who went on top of the rankings after their 3-0 whitewash over Afghanistan in late August, lost their No.1 spot after crushing defeats to India and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup.