Australia and India go head to head with an eye on Test Championship table

Australia and India will aim to a narrow the gap with number-one ranked England in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table when they lock horns in a four-Test series which starts in Melbourne on Monday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side currently sits in second place on 118 ratings points, seven ratings points behind Andrew Strauss' side, while Michael Clarke's men are in fourth position on 103 ratings points. Third-ranked South Africa, which leads sixth-ranked Sri Lanka 1-0 in a three-Test series, is on 116 ratings points.

As such, shuffling of the pack in the middle of the Championship table could be on the cards, depending on how the series Down Under (which finishes on 28 January) and in South Africa (which finishes on 7 January) pans out.

If Australia wins all the four Tests, it will jump to 111 ratings points and India will drop to 111 ratings but will still be ranked above Australia by a fraction of a point. In case of a 3-1 win for Australia, the home side will rise to 108 ratings points and India will drop to 113 ratings points whereas a 2-2 draw will mean Australia will gain two ratings points and India will drop two ratings points.

In a sharp contrast, if India makes a sweep of the four-Test series, it will move to 122 ratings points and will narrow the gap with England to just three points. A 3-1 victory for India will put it on 120 ratings points dropping Australia to 101 ratings points, whereas a 2-1 series win will earn Dhoni's side one ratings points.

All the various permutations can be calculated by using the ICC Test Championship predictor by clicking here.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, India's iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who is one century short of becoming the first batsman to score 100 international centuries, is the highest-ranked batsman from either side in sixth position.The 38-year-old from Mumbai trails Pakistan's Younus Khan by four ratings points.

India also boasts Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag inside the top 20 while Michael Hussey and Clarke are the only two Australia batsmen inside the top 20 in 17th and 18th positions, respectively.

Zaheer Khan of India in sixth position and Australia's Peter Siddle in 12th position will be spearheading their respective bowling attacks.

Ishant Sharma, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ravichandran Ashwin, James Pattinson and Nathan Lyon are the other bowlers sitting inside the top 50 and hoping to improve their rankings.

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Zaheer, Ishant fit and raring to go: Laxman

Ending all speculations, veteran India batsman V.V.S. Laxman Friday said pacers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are 'fully fit and raring to go' in the Boxing Day Test starting Monday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

'Ishant was not available for the first warm up, but he bowled in Canberra and the way he bowled today at the nets was proof that they are both fit and raring to go,' Laxman said.

The two bowlers were seen bowling full tilt without displaying any sort of discomfort at the MCG nets here Friday.

On India's chances of breaking the 64-year drought of winning a Test series in Australia, Laxman said: 'There's been a lot of talk on whether this is our best chance to win here. But whenever we take a flight to anywhere, we go in with the belief that we can win with the kind of talent and potential that we have and it will not be be any different this time around.'

'Winning in Australia is everyone's dream in the world. Not just India but across the world because when you play Australia in Australia, it is the toughest cricket that you can play.'

Zaheer was also buoyant about his fitness and said the four-month break since undergoing an ankle surgery in London has helped him to prepare better for the four-Test series.

'Because I had a four-month break, I could prepare well for the series. In the past, it used to be at the end of the season that I would go to Australia and break down. We (along with physios) chalked out this plan. So far I've been achieving the milestones about 8-10 days before they were delivered,' Zaheer said.

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