India reclaims top spot in ICC Test rankings
India leapfrogged Australia to claim the top spot in the ICC Test rankings following their 4-1 series win over England in the five-match Test series. Notably, the Rohit Sharma-led side scripted a brilliant comeback after losing the series opener in Hyderabad despite taking a massive 190-run lead in the first innings.
After an embarrassing defeat in the first game, India went on to win the remaining four fixtures in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala to hand England their first series defeat under the leadership of Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
Following their massive win, India reclaimed the top spot in the Test rankings with 122 rating points to their name as Australia dropped to the second position with 117 ratings while England is third with 111 ratings. The Rohit Sharma-led side will continue to hold the top spot irrespective of the result of the ongoing second Test between New Zealand and Australia.
Following their ascent to the top of the Test rankings, India once again became number one in all three formats of the game. Notably, the Men in Blue are on the top of the ODI and T20I rankings as well with 121 ratings and 266 ratings respectively.
They earlier held the top spot across all three formats from September 2023 to January 2024 until they slipped to the second spot in Tests following a 1-1 drawn series in South Africa. India hold the top spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table for the ongoing cycle (2023-25) with six wins from nine matches having a points percentage of 68.51 percent.
India to play Bangladesh and New Zealand next
The Asian Giants managed to qualify for the final of the first two editions of the WTC. However, they found themselves on the wrong side of results losing against New Zealand and Australia in the summit clash in 2021 and 2023 respectively. India will next play Bangladesh and New Zealand at home in the current cycle followed by a five-match away tour of Australia. The Rohit Sharma-led side will look to continue their brilliant form to qualify for the WTC final for the third consecutive time.
