India captain Virat Kohli was presented with the Test mace on Tuesday, as his team finished No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings ahead of the April 1 cut-off date.
Kohli was awarded the mace by former India great and ICC Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar in Dharamsala, where the hosts defeated Australia in the fourth and final Test to clinch the series 2-1.
Pakistan, who had climbed to the top of the ICC Test rankings in October 2016 for the first time in their history after pulling off a 2-2 draw in Test tour of England in July-August, were taken over by India shortly afterwards. India have retained the top spot ever since.
Pakistan, after suffering defeats in New Zealand and Australia late last year, subsequently dropped to sixth spot.
Australia are ranked second, South Africa third, England fourth, New Zealand fifth, Sri Lanka seventh and West Indies eighth in the Test rankings. Bangladesh and Zimbabwe round up the last two spots, respectively.
In the ICC Test batting rankings, Pakistan batsmen Azhar Ali and Younis Khan are at sixth and seventh spot, respectively. Australia captain Steve Smith tops the rankings, followed by India’s Cheteshwar Pujara at second and England captain Joe Root at third.
