The Indian men’s cricket team, who lost 1-3 in the just-finished five-match Test series against Australia, dropped out of the top two spots in the ICC Test Team Rankings. The new rankings place India third in the ICC Team rankings.
After losing 3-0 at home to New Zealand, Team India needed a positive performance in Australia to resuscitate their World Test Championship campaign. However, Rohit Sharma and his teammates failed to deliver a strong effort, as Australia overpowered Team India.
The Indian squad got off to a fantastic start on their tour. In the first Test, India defeated the hosts by 295 runs in Perth. However, everything went sour after that victory. The second Test in Adelaide was won by Australia by ten wickets, while the third Test in Brisbane was drawn due to weather.
In the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Australia defeated India by 184 runs to take the series lead for the first time. India’s performance did not improve much in the fifth Test either.
The visitors needed to win the Sydney Test at all costs to avoid losing the series against Australia for the first time since 2014/15. However, Australia defeated them by six wickets to capture the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.
Team India slips to no.3 in ICC Test team rankings
India, which reached the finals of the 2019-21 and 2021-23 World Test Championships, gets 109 rating points. 2023 WTC winners Australia leads the Test standings with 126 rating points, followed by South Africa, which thrashed Pakistan in the recently finished two-match Test series at home.
The Proteas, who are assured to finish first in the WTC 2023-25 points table, have 112 rating points. South Africa began the series against Pakistan as the world’s third-ranked Test team, but two victories in two games saw Temba Bavuma’s men overtake India.
The first Test series victory over India in ten years not only helped Australia retain its top Test ranking, but it also helped the Baggy Greens qualify for the World Test Championship final for the second year in a row.
The final of WTC 2025, which will be held at Lord’s from June 11 to 15, will pit Australia against South Africa. If Australia wins the one-off match against South Africa, it will be the first team in history to successfully defend its World Cup title.
Latest ICC Test Rankings for teams:
| Position | Team | Ratings | Points |
| 1 | Australia | 126 | 4531 |
| 2 | South Africa | 112 | 3355 |
| 3 | India | 109 | 4248 |
| 4 | England | 106 | 5303 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 96 | 3536 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 87 | 2436 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 83 | 2237 |
| 8 | West Indies | 75 | 2184 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 65 | 1884 |
| 10 | Ireland | 26 | 131 |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 4 | 11 |
| 12 | Afghanistan | 0 | 0 |
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