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India suffered a humiliating 1-3 defeat in the five-match Test series against Australia, which ended on Sunday (January 5) in Sydney.
India slip to No 3 position in ICC Test rankings. (Picture Credit: AFP)
The Indian men’s cricket team, which suffered a humiliating 1-3 defeat in the recently concluded five-match Test series against Australia, slipped to the No. 3 position in the latest ICC Test team rankings. India, which made it to the final of the 2019-21 and 2021-23 World Test Championships, has 109 rating points. 2023 WTC winners Australia sits at the top of the Test rankings with 126 rating points and is followed by South Africa, which whitewashed Pakistan in the recently concluded two-match Test series at home. The Proteas, who are guaranteed to finish at the top of the WTC 2023-25 points table, have 112 rating points.
South Africa kicked off the series against Pakistan as the world No. 3 Test side, but two wins in two matches helped Temba Bavuma’s men overtake India.
India, which failed to qualify for the WTC final for the first time in three seasons, kicked off the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a big 295-run win over Pat Cummins-led side at the Optus Stadium in November 2024. But Rohit Sharma’s men failed to build on that win and went on to lose three of the next four matches.
Australia, which hammered India by 209 runs in the WTC 2023 final played at The Oval in June 2023, won the second Test, which was played with the pink ball at Adelaide Oval from December 6-8, 2024, by 10 wickets and then secured wins by 184 runs and 6 wickets in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively. In between the Adelaide and Melbourne Tests, the third match in Brisbane finished as a draw due to rain.
The first Test series win over India in 10 years not only helped Australia maintain the No. 1 Test ranking, but it also helped the Baggy Greens to qualify for the World Test Championship final for the second season in a row.
In the final of WTC 2025, which is scheduled to take place at Lord’s from June 11 to 15, Australia will face South Africa. If Australia manages to get the better of South Africa in the one-off match, then it will become the first team in history to successfully defend its WTC title.
