India reaches new high in ICC Test Championship

India's 1-1 draw in the four-Test series against Australia that concluded today has boosted it from sixth to fifth in the ICC Test Championship.

The drawn series against the top-ranked side has improved India's rating from 95 to 100 - the highest that it has been since the calculation process was relaunched in June 2003.

The win puts India within striking distance of third place in the official ratings. It is now only one point behind England in fourth and two behind Pakistan in third.

India has never been above fifth in the ICC Test Championship but this improved rating means that when it travels to Pakistan later this year, the series victor is likely to claim third place in the table.

India's strong performance in Australia - combined with recent series victories for Pakistan in New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home to England - has brought the middle-ranked sides in the official table much closer together. In September there were 15 points between the sides ranked third and seventh, today the gap has narrowed to only six points.

Australia's rating has fallen from 130 to 125 as a result of it failing to win the home series. It retains a comfortable lead at the top of the table but the gap to South Africa in second will be down from 19 to 11 points if South Africa can beat West Indies 4-0 in their current series.

The ICC Test Championship table correct on 6 January 2004

The impact future results will have on the ratings is available on the official ICC website. For a full explanation of how the ratings are calculated, visit www.icc.cricket.org.

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