Dhoni eyes 2nd spot, India hope to inch closer to South Africa

Dubai, May 16 (UNI) Mahendra Singh Dhoni will start the series against the West Indies within touching distance of regaining the top spot in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, while India hopes to close the gap to second-placed South Africa in Championship table with clean sweep of the five-match series in the Caribbeans.

Dhoni held the top spot briefly after India's two-match series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi last month but was then overtaken by Adam Gilchrist following Australia's three-match clash with Bangladesh.

But despite slipping one place down the table, Dhoni is only three rating points behind Gilchrist and if he maintains his recent high level of performances when he faces Brian Lara's side, that should be enough to return him to the number one position.

For India, a clean sweep of the five-match series that begins at Sabina Park, Jamaica on Thursday will push it ever closer to second place in the LG ICC ODI Championship table.

Rahul Dravid's side is currently third in that table, three rating points behind South Africa after winning 18 of its last 24 matches in this form of the game.

And a 5-0 victory in the series will see it move up to 118 points, just one behind the Proteas and 14 behind runaway leaders Australia.

The West Indies will, of course, have other plans and a 4-1 victory for Lara and his players will allow them to close the gap on seventh-placed England to just eight rating points, according to an ICC release here today.

That margin of success for the home team will drop India to fifth in the table below Pakistan and New Zealand, and even a 3-2 success for the West Indies will see India slide to fourth behind Inzamam-ul Haq's side.

Meanwhile, apart from Dhoni, there are two other Indian batsmen in the top 20 with Rahul Dravid in 10th position and Yuvraj Singh one place further back, while Virender Sehwag lies in joint 24th, along with England's Andrew Strauss.

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