ICC Test Team rankings: Australia dethrones India to become top-ranked side

Team India have lost their numero uno position in the Test rankings as the Indian Cricket Council (ICC) released the latest team statuses on Thursday.

India slipped two spots to third following their 1-2 series defeat in South Africa. After a brilliant victory in the three-match series opener in Centurion, the tourists faced back-to-back defeats in Johannesburg and Cape Town, respectively.

On the other hand, South Africa with an epic series win have climbed up one position to number five in the rankings.

Meanwhile, Australia have climbed to the top, thanks to their dominating 4-0 series victory over arch-rivals England in the recently concluded Ashes 2021-22.

Notably, under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Australia won the first, second, third and fifth Test matches comprehensively at Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart. The visitors only managed to draw the fourth Test in Sydney to escape from the clean sweep.

Riding on the impressive Ashes performance, Australia advanced two places to number one in the rankings, surpassing both New Zealand and India with 119 rating points.

The inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) winners, New Zealand, have reserved their second position in the rankings after the drawn home series against Bangladesh. The hosts had lost the first Test at the Bay Oval but came back strongly to win the second Test at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch and levelled the two-match series.

When it comes to the other teams, Pakistan have skidded down one spot to sixth while Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland are still sitting at their previous positions.