India overtake Australia to become No. 1 Test side
Dubai, May 2: India have overtaken Australia to regain the number one position in the ICC men's Test team rankings following the annual update that drops results from the 2019-20 season and reflects all series completed since May 2020.
India's rating points have moved up from 119 to 121 as their 2-0 defeat to New Zealand in March 2020 no longer figures in the rankings, which assesses series completed prior to May 2022 at 50 per cent and subsequent series at 100 per cent.
India were last at the top for a month in December 2021.
Australia have slipped from 122 to 116 rating points as their home series wins over Pakistan (2-0) and New Zealand (3-0) in 2019-20 no longer figure in the rankings, while their 4-0 win over England in 2021-22 has its weighting halved to 50 per cent.
Australia, who take on India in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023 at The Oval from June 7, were the top-ranked Test side since January 2022. They grabbed the position with the 4-0 series win over England that helped them overtake New Zealand.
England remain in third position but the gap between them and the second placed side is reduced from 13 to two rating points owing to some consistent performances in recent months as well as reduced weightage of their 4-0 Ashes defeat and a 1-0 defeat in the West Indies.
The other rankings too remain unchanged though 10th-placed Zimbabwe have gained five rating points. Afghanistan and Ireland have yet to play enough Tests to earn a place in the rankings table.
In the men's T20I team rankings, India have consolidated their position at the top, increasing their lead over second-placed England from six to eight points. New Zealand have overtaken Pakistan and South Africa to third position.
The annual update to the ODI team rankings will be carried out on May 10 after the ongoing Pakistan-New Zealand series.
🚨 New World No.1 🚨
— ICC (@ICC) May 2, 2023
India dethrone Australia in the annual update of the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's Test Rankings ahead of the #WTC23 Final 👀
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Ranchi: Temple guard bludgeoned to death during robbery attempt, 3 held
Ranchi (PTI): A 60-year-old security guard of a temple in Ranchi was bludgeoned to death with a stone during a robbery attempt, police said on Saturday.
The incident happened late on Thursday at the Jagannath Temple in the Dhurwa Smart City area, they said.
"Three persons were arrested on Friday for killing the security guard. They confessed to the crime and told police that the victim had identified them. Therefore, in fear of being caught, they killed him by attacking him with a stone on his head," SSP Rakesh Ranjan said.
"Thereafter, they took money from the donation box and fled the scene. Two of them have criminal antecedents," he added.
Ranjan said the investigators recovered Rs 3 lakh in cash that had been robbed, the stone with blood-stained marks, and the iron rod used to break open the lock of the donation box kept there.
An FIR in this regard was lodged at the Dhurwa police station, he said, adding that the accused were sent to judicial custody by a court.
