Virat Kohli-led Team India retain top spot in latest ICC Test rankings

Dubai: India have retained their number-one position in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Team Rankings released on Thursday.

While the Virat Kohli-led side lead South Africa by six points following the annual update, only nine points separate third-ranked Australia from seventh-ranked Sri Lanka, with ninth-ranked Bangladesh trailing eighth-ranked West Indies by six points.

India have moved to 123 points after gaining one point, however, second-ranked South Africa now have the table-toppers firmly within its sights after vaulting from 109 points to 117 points. This jump means the pre-update gap of 13 points has now been trimmed to just six points.

While India and South Africa have made upward movements, Australia, England and Pakistan have headed in the opposite direction.

Australia have retained their third place but have plummeted from 108 points to 100 points, England have stayed in fourth position but have slipped to 99 points after conceding two points, whereas Pakistan have dropped behind New Zealand in sixth place after conceding four points to sit on 93 points.

The swings for Faf du Plessis's and Steve Smith's sides have come after South Africa's 2-1 loss to Australia, and Australia's 5-0 series win over England in 2013-14 have both been dropped for calculation purposes.

Sri Lanka are seventh on 91 points (up by one), West Indies eighth on 75 points (up by five), Bangladesh ninth on 69 points (up by three) and Zimbabwe 10th with zero points (down by five).