India retained its top position in International Cricket Council Test rankings with 123 points – a clear six point lead over second placed South Africa, who have reduced the gap to six points, reported PTI.
Nine points now separate third-ranked Australia from seventh-ranked Sri Lanka as per the latest ICC release. The 9th ranked Bangladesh (69) are currently trailing eighth-ranked West Indies (75) by six points.
India has gained one ranking point while South Africa has leaped from 109 to 117 points. During the previous update, the gap between the top two sides was 13 points. While India and South Africa have made forward strides, Australia, England and Pakistan have headed south.
Australia has retained its third place but slumped from 108 to 100 points. England stayed in fourth position but conceded two points to slip to 99 whereas Pakistan (93) has dropped behind New Zealand in sixth place after losing four points despite clinching their maiden Test series win in the West Indies recently.
The recent slump of Steve Smith’s side was a result of their 5-0 Ashes win of 2013-’14 and 2-1 win over South Africa in the same season were dropped for calculation purposes.