Dubai, January 22: New Zealand lost their number one spot to England in the ICC men's ODI Team Rankings following their eight-wicket loss to India at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Raipur.
Three days after losing a thriller in the first ODI at Hyderabad, New Zealand suffered a resounding defeat against India in the second ODI on Saturday (January 21).
The Indian fast bowlers floored the Kiwis in the opening overs, reducing them to 15/5 inside 11 overs. But the visitors put on a respectable score of 108 thanks to knocks from Glenn Phillips (36), Michael Bracewell (22) and Mitchell Santner (27).
In response, India made light work of the chase riding on Rohit Sharma's knock of 51 off 50 balls to seal the series win with almost 30 overs to spare.
As a result of the series loss, the Black Caps have lost their top ODI rankings tag with England now taking the top spot in the ODI Team Rankings chart.
Before the Raipur ODI, New Zealand were top with 115 rating points, while England were in the second position with 113 rating points followed by Australia in third with 112 ratings and India in fourth with 111 rating points.
After the eight-wicket loss, New Zealand now sit at the second spot with 113 rating points and 3166 overall points. England and India are ranked first and third, respectively, also with 113 rating points.
If India replicates their performances from the first two matches in the final ODI at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Tuesday (January 24) and white-wash the series 3-0, they will become the number 1 side in ODIs.
The Men in Blue will have a chance to remain in the number one spot till England face South Africa in an away series next week. However, all that will depend on England's performance in the three-match series against the Proteas and, of course the result of India and New Zealand's final ODI.