Virat Kohli presented Test mace as India finishes No.1

Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, was presented with the Test mace by India legend and International Cricket Council Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar in Dharamsala on Tuesday (March 28) as his side finished No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings ahead of the April 1 cut-off date.

India replaced Pakistan at the top of the ICC Test rankings in October 2016 after completing a convincing 178-run win over New Zealand in the second Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India has held onto the position ever since, dominating all opponents in a long home season. India swept the series against New Zealand 3-0, followed that up with a 4-0 result in the five-Test series against England, beat Bangladesh by 208 runs in the one-off Test, and finally clinched the hard-fought four-Test series against Australia 2-1.

Cheteshwar Pujara (373), Ajinkya Rahane (347) and Virat Kohli (309) were the top run-getters in the series against New Zealand, but the star of the show was R Ashwin, the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2016, picking up 27 wickets.

Ashwin followed that up with 28 wickets, to go with Ravindra Jadeja’s 26, in the series against England, even as Kohli stamped his authority with 655 runs over the five Tests – 164 more than the next most prolific scorer, Joe Root (491).

And when Kohli scored 204 in Hyderabad against Bangladesh, it gave him a double-century in four consecutive series, starting with the tour of the Caribbean.

He was off the boil in the Australia series, but India found its stars when needed, Jadeja standing out among the bowlers, and Pujara and KL Rahul scoring most of the runs for India even as Steven Smith topped the charts with 499 runs, inclusive of four centuries.

Following India's climb to the top, Pakistan, which had claimed the No. 1 Test rank for the first time in its history after pulling off a 2-2 draw in its four-Test tour of England in July-August, slipped to second spot. But after suffering big defeats away in New Zealand and Australia in the following months, it subsequently dropped to sixth.

India had been on top before Misbah-ul-Haq’s team overtook it. Kohli's men had reclaimed the position from Australia on August 17, 2016. Rain and a wet outfield in the fourth Test against West Indies in Port of Spain had denied India a chance to prevent Pakistan from surpassing it, but it got back to the top soon enough.

As of now, India, with 122 points in its kitty, is comfortably perched on top of the ten-team table, followed by Australia (108 points), South Africa (107 points), England (101 points) and New Zealand (98 points). South Africa, which is playing a Test series against New Zealand, has a chance to add to its points.

Along with the Test championship mace, the ICC also handed out a US$ 1 million prize to India.

The changes made in India's fitness regime paid off, allowing the players to sustain performances over a long home season, said Kohli after India's eight-wicket win over Australia.

Australia, who came to India trailing the home side by 12 ratings points, could have gone to the top with a 3-0 series win or better, but once India pulled off the series-levelling 75-run win in the second Test in Bangalore, Steven Smith and Co. dropped out of the chase.

India bounced back in dramatic fashion in that particular match after suffering a massive 333-run loss in the series opener in Pune. Set a target of 188, Australia was dismissed for 112 in 35.4 overs on the fourth day with Ashwin picking up his 25th career five-wicket haul.

Since April 1, 2016, India has won 12, drawn four and lost just one of the 17 Tests it has played against West Indies, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia.

The ICC awards US$ 500,000 to the second-ranked team, US$ 200,000 to the third-placed team and US$ 100,000 to the team in fourth place.