A Test series victory against Sri Lanka may prove enough to take India into second place in the ICC Test Championship table.
If that happens, it will be the first time they have reached those heights in the four-and-a-half years since the official Test Championship was launched in May 2001.
Should India secure a 2-0 win in their three-match series they will move ahead of England unless Michael Vaughan's men are victorious in their current Test against Pakistan in Lahore.
And if England lose the Test then Rahul Dravid's side will only have to win the Sri Lanka series 1-0 or 2-1 in order to take second spot.
In terms of points, this is how the scenarios could play out for India over the coming days and weeks:
- A 2-0 win for India will be enough to take them second if England draw in Lahore as that combination of results will leave both teams on 115 points but India will be ahead when the ratings are calculated to three decimal places
- A 1-0 or 2-1 win for India will also see them go second if England lose the Lahore Test. Both sides would then be level on 113 points but again India would have the edge when the ratings are calculated to three decimal places
- A 3-0 success for India will lift them to 116 points, just 12 points behind current leaders Australia
Sri Lanka have their own incentive to do well in the series that begins in Chennai on Friday.
Even a drawn series will take them into fourth place above South Africa and New Zealand in a congested middle section of the table.
If they win 3-0 they would even leapfrog India into third spot while a 2-0 success would draw the two sides level on 106 points.
The LG ICC Test Player Rankings suggest India has the edge in batting power coming into this series as they can boast three players in the top ten positions while Sri Lanka has none.
Captain Dravid lies in fifth spot, Virender Sehwag is seventh and Sachin Tendulkar is ninth; Sri Lanka's highest placed player is wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sangakkara, in 15th, while their only other player in the top 20 is Mahela Jayawardene in 19th.
Sri Lanka's captain Marvan Atapattu languishes in 42nd spot while recalled former India captain Sourav Ganguly is 39th.
At least, from Sri Lanka's perspective, they can boast two players in the top ten of the LG ICC bowling list with Muttiah Muralitharan in second place, just 11 points behind leader Glenn McGrath, and Chaminda Vaas in 8th.
India's best-placed bowler is Irfan Pathan in ninth, with a career-best points tally, while spin twins Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh are 12th and 16th respectively.
