India eye second spot

Sourav Ganguly has, over the last few months, often stated that India are the second-best side in the world. Now, he has the opportunity to see his team climb to that position in the official ICC Test Championship table - all he needs is a series win against Australia.

Even a victory by a one-Test margin (1-0 or 2-1) will help India, currently in fourth place with 104 points, gallop to 111, ahead of England, who are now in second place with 109. In such a scenario, Australia will still maintain their top spot, but will slip from 129 points to 123. In fact, Australia are so far ahead of the pack that even if they lose all four matches, they will have a four-point lead - 119 to 115 - over India at the top of the table. On the other hand, a 3-0 win will boost Australia's tally to 131, their highest-ever rating in the Test table.

In the event of a drawn series, India will move to third spot with 108 points, while Australia's total will slip marginally to 126.