Series defeat drops India down LG ICC Test Championship table

India's Test series defeat at the hands of neighbours Pakistan has cost them more than just local bragging rights; it has also dropped them down one place in the latest LG ICC Test Championship table.

The 1-0 loss, confirmed by the side's defeat in Karachi on Wednesday, has cut India's rating from 115 points to 111 and so dropped them into third place below England, who have 113 points.

It means Michael Vaughan's side are once again the closest rivals to table-topping Australia who are way ahead of the field with 129 rating points.

India had held second spot in the LG ICC Test Championship table for just over a month, having assumed that position in late December thanks to a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka, coupled with England's 2-0 loss in Pakistan.

India's only consolation is that they will not have long to wait for their opportunity to regain second place. They will go head-to-head with England in March and that spot will be up for grabs to add spice to what is already a much-anticipated series.

But if the news is bad for India, it is good for Pakistan. The series win not only makes amends for their 2-1 home defeat at the hands of their local rivals two years ago but also boosts their rating in the LG ICC Test Championship table.

Although they have not moved up that table and remain in fourth position, Pakistan have still gained five rating points because of the victory and now stand on 108 points, just three behind India.

It means they, too, are now very much in the equation when it comes to the battle for second place. Their upcoming series in Sri Lanka, set to start in late March, will be a further opportunity to boost their rating.

Rahul Dravid's twin failures in Karachi have cost him a place in the top five batsmen in the LG ICC Player Rankings. He is now in sixth place and although he remains India's top-ranked batsman, his rating and ranking is now at its lowest for two years.

Dravid is not alone among India's batsmen in slipping down the rankings in the wake of the Karachi Test. Virender Sehwag is down two places to ninth, Sachin Tendulkar slips one spot to 12th and VVS Laxman is down two positions to 23rd.

Sourav Ganguly holds firm in 40th position after two battling innings in the third Test but he is still a long way short of his highest haul of rating points.

India's one ray of light in the batting listings is Yuvraj Singh, who made his second Test hundred in Karachi. He moved up 23 places thanks to his efforts in the Test and is now joint 44th (along with Pakistan opener Salman Butt), his first time in the top 50.

Pakistan retain three batsmen in the top ten places of the LG ICC Player Rankings with Inzamam-ul-Haq, who missed the third Test with a back injury, holding firm in fifth place, along with Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.

Younis, who captained the side in Inzamam's absence, moves up one spot to seventh, as does Yousuf, who now occupies eighth position. Both players are close to their career-best haul of rating points.

Kamran Akmal's brilliant first innings hundred, begun from the wreckage of 39-6 on the first morning, has boosted his rating and he is now 36th among the world's top batsmen, up 14 places thanks to his efforts in Karachi.

The Pakistan-India series was something of a graveyard for bowlers and at the end of it only one player from either side - Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar, in seventh - is in the top ten of the LG ICC Player Rankings.

However, India's Irfan Pathan, who took a hat-trick in the first over of the match (the first time this has been achieved in the 129-year history of Test cricket) has moved up three places to 12th in those rankings thanks to his efforts in Karachi.

Mohammad Asif, whose incisive bowling in both of India's innings did so much towards Pakistan's victory, moves up a massive 64 places to 60th position and Abdul Razzaq is also on the move upwards, seven places to 29th with his best-ever haul of rating points.

Elsewhere in the bowling list, Anil Kumble is holding steady in 11th place, Danish Kaneria has slipped two places to 15th and Zaheer Khan is down one slot to 26th position.

In the LG ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders Pathan is holding firm in fourth place while Razzaq has entered the top ten for the first time and is in ninth position.

Australia still dominate the individual player rankings in the LG ICC list with Ricky Ponting the top batsman and Glenn McGrath the top bowler. South Africa's Jacques Kallis, currently sidelined with injury, is the world's leading all-rounder.

Full details of the current LG ICC Test Championship and how future results will impact on the table, as well as the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found here