India replace Australia as test No. 1 ahead of WTC final
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Fourth Test - India v Australia - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India - March 13, 2023 India celebrates after winning the Border Gavaskar Trophy test series REUTERS/Amit Dave
NEW DELHI : India ended Australia's 15-month reign as the number one test team in cricket on Tuesday ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June between the two sides.
The annual update of the official rankings dropped the results from the 2019-20 season and reflects all series completed since May 2020.
That meant India's 2-0 loss in New Zealand in 2019-20 was no longer in consideration, taking Rohit Sharma's team to the top of the list with 121 points.
Australia dropped to 116 points after wins against Pakistan and New Zealand in 2019-20 were left out and their 4-0 Ashes victory against England had its weighting halved in the annual exercise.
England, who have won 10 of their last 12 tests under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, remain third with 114 points.
India are also the top-ranked T20 team ahead of world champions England.
India and Australia face each other in the WTC final at the Oval on June 7.
