Now India targets Pakistan's spot in Test table

Having overtaken Pakistan in the official One-Day International (ODI) table by just one point with victory in the final ODI in Lahore on Wednesday, India now has an opportunity to overhaul its great rival in the ICC Test Championship table as well.

Going into the three Test match series starting in Multan on Sunday, Pakistan is third in the official Test table with a rating of 102 while India is fifth on 100.

India's rating was boosted from 95 to 100 by its strong showing in the recent drawn series against runaway leaders Australia. It now needs to win in Pakistan to climb above its neighbour in ICC Test Championship table for the first time since August 2003.

A 1-0 or 2-1 series win for India would lift its rating to 102 while Pakistan's rating would slide to 99. A larger margin of victory for the visitors would enable it to open up an even bigger gap - 104 versus 97 if it wins the series 2-0 or 105 against 96 if it is a 3-0 whitewash.

Pakistan's recent Test record is very strong. It has not lost a match since going down 2-0 to South Africa in January 2003 and over this time it has steadily climbed from eighth to third in the official standings.

A 3-0 win against India would boost Pakistan's rating to 108 - comfortably the highest it has been since a new system of calculation was introduced in June 2003. This would move Pakistan within striking distance of second place.

With England and New Zealand both targeting series victories against the West Indies and South Africa respectively a 1-0 series win may not be enough to keep Pakistan in third spot but 2-0 should be good enough and 3-0 certainly will be.

If the series is drawn, both India and Pakistan will remain on their current ratings.

The ICC Test Championship table correct on 24 March 2004

Note: If ratings are equal, the ratings calculation is refined to three decimal places to determine the higher ranked team.

Full scenarios for Pakistan v India Test series:

Ranjan Madugalle from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Referees will officiate on the series. David Shepherd and Simon Taufel from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires will stand in the First Test, Steve Bucknor will join Taufel in the Second Test while Rudi Koertzen and Shepherd are the umpires for the final Test.

The official Test table is updated at the end of each series once the final outcome of the series is known. The winning team from a Test series receives bonus points equivalent to one additional match victory.

The impact future results will have on the ratings is available on the ICC website. For a full explanation of how the ratings are calculated, visit www.icc.cricket.org.

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