India pip Australia to become No.1 ranked Test team

Inida, Australia, WTC Final — Image Source : GETTY India claim no.1 position in Tests

Team India, led by Rohit Sharma, is the new number one ranked Test team in the world. ICC announced the latest rankings on Tuesday (May 2) following the annual update where all the series completed from May 2020 to May 2022 are considered. Prior to the annual update, Australia were at the top of rankings with 122 points with India behind them by three points. However, the latest update sees India leading Australia by five points. It has also ended Australia's reign of 15 months at the top of the ICC Rankings in the longest format of the game.

Meanwhile, the tussle between India and Australia continues in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) Final on June 7 at the Oval in London. The two teams had locked horns against each other in India in the Border Gavaskar trophy recently. India had won the four-match series with 2-1 margin. Under Rohit's leadership, the team will hope to win the WTC. They made it to the final of the inaugural edition of WTC as well only to lose to New Zealand.

Meanwhile, England are at the third position with 114 points having won most of their recent matches thanks to the impact Bazball cricket they play in red-ball cricket. England are only two points behind the second placed Australia and it will be important to see how they perform in the upcoming Ashes series in June and July. Among other teams, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively.

Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe occupy the last four spots respectively and will need a massive improvement in the next WTC cycle in terms of their performance. On the other hand, Australia will be looking to make amends and displace India from the top spot.