India lose top spot in ICC Test rankings

After reigning the ICC Test rankings for nearly four years, India lost the top spot to Australia on May 1. India dropped to the third spot during a phase when all sporting events across the globe have come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

India had gained the top spot in the International Cricket Council’s Test Rankings in October 2016. The cricket body attributed India’s drop in ranking to the removal of the record from 2016-17 in the latest chart. India had won 12 of the 13 matches they played in that period.  

Team India had won five series, and beaten Australia and England. Australia, on the other hand, had lost to South Africa and India that year. 

The latest update rates all the matches played since May 2019 at 100 per cent and those of the previous two years at 50 per cent.

In the latest rankings, Australia are placed first with 116 points, followed by New Zealand (115 points) and India (114 points). 

With a narrow margin of just two points between them, this is the second closest the top three teams have been since these rankings were launched in 2003. 

The closest for the top three teams was in January 2016, when India had led Australia and South Africa by a single point.

The Virat Kohli-led side continues to dominate the points table of the ICC World Test Championship. The World Test Championship comprises six series played by each of the top nine ranked sides.