Team India displace New Zealand to move to No. 1 in ICC Test rankings
Following their emphatic victory over England in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Team India rose to the no. 1 spot in the updated ICC Test rankings.
Team India hammered England by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth Test to clinch the four-match series 3-1. India now have 122 rating points in the ICC Test rankings. New Zealand are in second position with 118 points, while Australia are third with 113.
With the victory, Team India also sealed their spot in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's, where they will take on New Zealand.
Resuming the day on 294 for 7, with a lead of 89, the hosts stretched their innings to 365. Washington Sundar carried on his impressive run with the bat but was unlucky to miss out on a hundred.
He was stranded on 96 not out, as Team India lost their last three wickets in five balls. Axar Patel contributed an impressive 43 off 97 before getting run out. But Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj lasted only four deliveries before they were sent back by Ben Stokes for ducks.
Team India, however, bundled out England for 135 to wrap up the final Test inside three days. Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel claimed five wickets apiece, as England’s batsmen again succumbed to the spin twins.
Dan Lawrence, who looked good for England during his 46 in the first innings, top-scored for visitors with 50 in the second. He was the last man out, cleaned up by Ashwin.
Wanted youngsters to come in and perform with fearlessness: Team India skipper Virat Kohli
Speaking after clinching the Test series handsomely, Team India captain Virat Kohli said he was especially elated with the efforts of youngsters like Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. At the post-match conference, Kohli said:
“Yes, Axar and Washington are ready, and the idea was to have youngsters who came in and perform with fearlessness. Rishabh and Washi did it with that game-changing partnership and Axar too.”
Kohli opined that Team India did wonderfully to comeback in the second Test after losing the first. He said in this regard:
“I think the comeback (in the second Test) pleased me the most. The first game was an aberration the way we played as a team. The toss played a crucial role, and I don't think the bowlers were in the game at all. (But) the comeback and the way we batted in the second Test match in Chennai (was fabulous)."
Terming Rohit Sharma’s hundred in Chennai as a defining moment in the series, Kohli added:
“Rohit's knock was the most defining moment in us coming back (in the series). Getting 150 on that pitch was as good as getting 250, and it got us into the contest. Throughout the series, he got important knocks and partnerships.”
Team India will next face England in a five-match T20I series, which starts in Ahmedabad on March 12.