India bags second place in LG ICC Test Championship

Dubai, Jan 28 (UNI) Despite losing the Test series with Australia 2-1, after the final Test ended in a draw today, India has climbed two spots to occupy the second place in the LG ICC Test Championship table.

Following their historic 72-run victory in the third Test at Perth and the drawn match in Adelaide, India, with 111 rating points, eclipsed their South Asian rival Sri Lanka, who are now at third place with 109 points.

The Proteas, with 108 points, are lagging three points behind India.

Team India had entered the series in fourth place, just behind South Africa and Sri Lanka, but South Africa's 2-1 series win over eighth-placed West Indies earlier this month relegated it to the fourth position and put Sri Lanka second, a fraction of a ratings point ahead of India in third spot.

With just four ratings points separating India and fifth-placed England, and plenty of Test cricket to be played over the next few months, reshuffling of the positions in the Test Championship table is very much on the cards.

England will rise to the second position if it sweeps the three-Test series against the Kiwis in April.

Australia, which started the series on 143 ratings points, is still out in front by a considerable distance despite losing two ratings points over the course of the series.

Ricky Ponting's side won the Melbourne Test by 337 runs and the controversial match in Sydney by 122 runs before the Perth defeat.

South Africa will tour Bangladesh next month and Sri Lanka will visit the West Indies in March. However, whatever may be the outcome of those two-Test series, India will retain its second place in the Championship table.

South Africa will get its opportunity to reclaim the second spot when it tours India in March for a three-Test series.

However, if India wins the series, it will widen the gap with both Sri Lanka and South Africa, with the latter to tour England in the summer for a four-Test series.

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