India slips to second spot in Tests after reaching top ranking in all formats
India slipped to the second spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings, shortly after becoming the number one team in all three formats of the game by securing the top spot. According to the update released from the ICC in the afternoon, India had replaced Pat Cummins-led Australia in the top ranking. India is already the top team in the T20 format while the team has claimed the number one spot in the 50-over format after beating New Zealand 3-0 in the ODI series last month.
India slipped to the second spot after the rankings were updated in the evening. India has 115 rating points while Australia is on top with 126 rating points. In the individual rankings, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has moved up to the second spot among men’s Test bowlers after taking eight wickets in the opening Test in Nagpur, while the left-armer, who returned to the team after almost five months due to a knee injury, K spinner Ravindra Jadeja has reached 16th position. Jadeja became the man of the match in this match due to his all-round game.
The pair of Ashwin and Jadeja took 15 wickets in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy which India won inside three days. Ashwin took five wickets for 37 runs in the second innings and three wickets for 42 runs in the first innings. The 36-year-old bowler is 21 ratings points behind Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who is at the top of the rankings. Jadeja took five wickets for 47 runs in the first innings of the match and two wickets for 34 runs in the second innings.
Among India’s other bowlers, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has been out of the team since September last year due to injury, is fifth in the rankings. In the batsmen’s list, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has gained the advantage of scoring a century in Nagpur and has moved from 10th to 8th position. Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant, who is out of the team due to a car accident, is the top Indian player in the rankings. He is at the seventh position.
In contrast, Australian openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja had to pay the price of getting out cheaply twice. Warner has dropped six places to 20th after scoring another 10 runs, while Khawaja has slipped two places to 10th after scoring just one more five in the first Test.
Australian pair of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith occupy the top two positions while Pakistan captain Babar Azam is in third place. India all-rounder Akshar Patel has jumped six places to reach the seventh position in the Test all-rounder rankings. He scored an inning of 84 in the opening Test, his highest score in this format.
