Sri Lanka Eye Top Spot in ODI Rankings

Colombo: Sri Lanka want to use the forthcoming series against South Africa as a stepping stone toward the No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings, ahead of next year's World Cup.

"That's at the back of our mind," Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said of the top spot ahead of a three-match series against South Africa. "But we just want to take it game by game, series by series, play positive cricket."

Sri Lanka will play three ODIs and two test matches against South Africa. The first ODI is on Sunday in Colombo. Sri Lanka are currently third in the ODI rankings, while South Africa are fifth. Australia are the top ranked country.

AB de Villiers, who leads South Africa in the shorter forms of the game, said the upcoming tour would be tough due to the hosts' good form. Sri Lanka won the World Twenty20 tournament this year and have returned from a successful tour in England where they beat the home side in all three forms of the game.

Scores	Upcoming	Results
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan - 3rd ODI 3rd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan - December 22, 12:00 GMT 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs 2nd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan at Cape Town Pakistan won by 81 runs

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