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India's reign at the top of the Test rankings ended after Australia eclipsed the Men in Blue to take the No. 1 spot in the latest rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday.
Australia took the top spot after India played out a 1-1 Test series draw with South Africa on Thursday. The second Test at Newlands, saw India claiming a seven-wicket win with a total of 642 deliveries bowled in both innings. The Test was the shortest in the history of red-ball cricket, eclipsing the previous shortest involving Australia and South Africa in 1932 in Melbourne (656). On a surface where the ball played all kinds of tricks on the batters, India made short work of the hosts with the ball on the second day, despite a heroic ton by opener Aiden Markram, and chased down a paltry target under 11 overs within five sessions. On the other hand, Australia's remarkable run against Pakistan in their ongoing Test series saw them regain the top spot for the first time since their World Test Championship success. Before the recent shift in the dynamics of the table, India and Australia were tied on rating with 118 points each. However, after the conclusion of India's two-match Test series and Australia bagging the series with two consecutive victories against Pakistan, the Pat Cummins-led team moved past the India team by staying on 118 points while India dropped to 117. Australia further tightened their grip to complete a whitewash over Pakistan following their clinical bowling on Day 3. At Stumps, Pakistan stand at 68/7 and lead by 82 runs, with Mohammad Rizwan (6*) and Aamer Jamal (0*) on the crease. Hazlewood bagged four wickets to lead the Aussie bowling attack and snatch the driver's seat of the game from the visitors. (ANI)
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