India Slip Below Bangladesh In WTC Standings After Hyderabad Loss To England
England scripted history at Hyderabad (AP)
India's fortunes in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle are not shaping up well as Rohit Sharma's men embarrassingly slipped below Bangladesh in the nine-team standings after their shocking defeat against England in the Hyderabad Test.
As Rohit and company lost the first Test in the five-match series to the tourists after a disappointing turn of events in the last two days, they dropped to the fifth slot in the ongoing two-year league cycle with just two wins in five matches.
India, who had to settle with a draw in the Caribbean and suffered a defeat in Centurion during the last month's trip to South Africa, had to endure their third non-winning result and now have just 43.33 points to show for their efforts.
India Slip To Fifth In WTC 2023-25 Standings
Bangladesh pipped India to the fourth slot despite not being active in the Test arena since December when they defeated New Zealand in Sylhet and ended their first series of the cycle with a drawn 1-1 scoreline. They have 50% of winning points to boast of.
So do South Africa and New Zealand at the second and third slots respectively with an identical 1-1 scoreline in their first two games. Defending champions Australia retained the numero uno spot with 55% of the contested points won after six victories and three defeats in their ten matches.
Despite their defeat, India kept a one-spot lead from Pakistan after the arch-rivals suffered a 3-0 series whitewash in Australia and now have a tally of 2-3 in their first five matches, including a 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka last July.
England remained eighth in the table despite a third win in six matches of the cycle and were pipped over to seventh by the West Indies, which scripted a historic triumph at the Gabba against Australia and pulled off their first win of the current edition of Test championship in four matches. Sri Lanka remained ninth win no wins and two defeats.