India break jinks, pip Australia to become No. 1 Test side

The Indian Test team added another feather to its hat; the side surpassed Australia to become the number one Test team ahead of the upcoming World Test Championship 2023 final.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) unveiled the latest Test rankings on Tuesday, 2 May. This marked the end of Australia’s dominance as the top nation in red-ball cricket for 15 months.

The rivalries between the two top cricket nations are getting hotter and hotter. The two teams are gearing up to face each other in the WTC final, which will start on 7 June at The Oval.

Prior to the fresh annual Test rankings update, Australia was occupying the top position with 122 points, while India was just behind by three points.

 ICC unveiled a fresh Test cricket ranking, which is given below 

Team	Matches	Points	Rating
India	25	3,031	121
Australia	23	2,679	116
England	36	4,103	114
South Africa	21	2,182	104
New Zealand	23	2,291	100
Pakistan	22	1,902	86
Sri Lanka	24	2,015	84
West Indies	25	1,906	76
Bangladesh	18	805	45
Zimbabwe	7	223	32

 

“The annual rankings consider all series completed since May 2020, with series completed before May 2022 weighted at 50 percent and all subsequent series weighted at 100 percent,” the ICC said in their release on Tuesday.

The Australian side led by Pat Cummins claimed the top spot, overtaking India after their astonishing 4-0 victory against England in the Ashes series, while India lost the top ranking position due to the loss of the Test series against South Africa in their backyard in 2021, which also ended the captaincy reign of Virat Kohli.

Apart from the top two spots, there were no changes in the points table. England’s recent performance under the captaincy of Ben Stokes helped them close the gap to second place from 13 points to just two. The upcoming Ashes series may change the Test ranking position.

However, the rest of the Test rankings remain the same.