Indian team has pipped the Australian team to become the new no.1 ranked Test side in the world in the latest update of the ICC Test team rankings on May 2, 2023. Recently, India beat Australia 2-1 at home in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series to qualify for the WTC 2023 final.
Australia’s reign at the top of the men’s Test rankings comes to an end after 15 months with India going past the Aussies ahead of next month’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.
India taking on Australia in Test cricket has quickly become one of the most exciting rivalries in recent history and the rankings reversal sets up the WTC 2023 Final perfectly, with the two sides set to write yet another chapter at ‘Ultimate Test’ on June 7 at The Oval in London.
India Currently Sits At The Top Of The Ladder With 121 Points, With Australia In The Second Spot With 116 Points
India currently sits at the top of the ladder with 121 points, with Australia in the second spot with 116 points. Earlier this year, India posted a 2-1 series win against Australia to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the fourth consecutive time.
Before the annual rankings update, Australia was occupying the top spot with 122 points while India were trailing them by three points (119). 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.
As a result, Australia’s home series wins over Pakistan (2-0) and New Zealand (3-0) in 2019/20 was no longer in consideration, while their 4-0 win over England in 2021/22 has its weighting halved. Consequently, Australia’s ratings dropped from 121 to 116.
Australia achieved the numero uno position in the Test rankings under Pat Cummins’ first assignment as captain as they crushed England 4-0 in the home Ashes in January 2022. India were holding the top spot till December 2021 but a 2-1 loss to South Africa saw them lose their crown.
England (116 points), South Africa (104) and reigning champion New Zealand (100) occupy the third, fourth, and fifth spots respectively.