It's official! India has overtaken Australia to become the top-ranked Test team in the world following the latest annual rankings update by the International Cricket Council (ICC). This exciting development comes just in time for the ICC World Test Championship Final next month!
India now sits at the summit of the rankings with a rating of 121 points, while Australia drops to second place with 116 points. The rankings update drops results from the 2019-20 season, taking into account only series completed since May 2020. The annual rankings consider all completed series from this time frame, with previous series weighted at 50 percent and subsequent series at 100 percent.
England holds onto their third position, but their gap from the second-placed side has been reduced from 13 to just two points, thanks to their consistent performances and reduced weightage of their 4-0 Ashes defeat and a 1-0 defeat in the West Indies.
India's climb to the top is a result of their 2-0 defeat to New Zealand in March 2020 being removed from the rankings, which only assesses series completed prior to May 2022 at 50 percent and subsequent series at 100 percent. In contrast, Australia's home series wins over Pakistan (2-0) and New Zealand (3-0) in 2019/20 were no longer considered, while their 4-0 win over England in 2021/22 was halved.
The Indian team and their fans are ecstatic about this achievement, and the timing couldn't be better as India prepares to face Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023 at The Oval starting from June 7. The race for the top spot in the rankings is getting more exciting, and only time will tell if India can hold onto their position!