India have held their place as the number one ODI team in the world just ahead of England and Australia.
India have retained their position at the top of the ICC’s one-day team rankings with South Africa missing the opportunity to claim the top spot.
The cut off date for ODI rankings is April 1 but none of the top four teams are due to play any 50-over fixtures before that time.
India’s number one place could only have been threatened by South Africa, who needed to record a 5-0 series victory over Pakistan in March to top the list.
The Indians knew their position was safe when Pakistan leveled the series during the second one-day international in Centurion to make it 1-1.
Despite the Proteas going on to win the series 3-2 they could not finish higher than fourth, behind England and the Aussies, as they needed at least a 4-1 victory to rise up through the rankings.
Alastair Cook’s side gave themselves a strong chance of finishing second at the end of the ICC calendar when they recorded a 2-1 one-day series win in New Zealand.
The reward for England from the ICC will be £50,000 whilst India will receive over double that for finishing first with £115,000.
The sides will be awarded their cash prizes next month, whilst India will also receive a shield for maintaining their place as the No.1 ODI side.
With the Champions Trophy a little over two months away it will be interesting to see if the top four sides can live up to their current rankings at the tournament in England.
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