New Delhi: The International Cricket Council on Monday afternoon (April 1) announced that Team India have retained the ICC Test Championship mace after finishing at the No.1 ranked side on the cut-off date of April 1. The Virat Kohli-led side managed to lift the elusive title for the third time in a row and have been awarded prize money of $1 million for winning the mace. New Zealand finished second on the list.
India scripted a dominant performance in Australia last year winning their first-ever Test series Down Under. Preceding their historic achievement, India lost in South Africa 1-2 before suffering a humiliation in England where they lost 1-4. With a year full of mixed results, India managed to retain the top spot with 116 points.
On retaining the title, captain Kohli said, “Retaining the ICC Test Championship Mace once again is something we are all really proud of. Our team has been doing well across formats but it gives us extra pleasure to come out on top of the Test rankings. We all know of the importance of Test cricket and of how only the best can prosper in the format,” Kohli added.
In the Test scenario, India will be part of the forthcoming ICC Test Championship which will be played between 2019 and 2023 and will begin after the World Cup event.
“Our team has a lot of depth and I am sure this will stand us in good stead once the ICC World Test Championship commences later this year. That is again something we are really looking forward to as it adds more context to Test match cricket.”
Kane Williamson-led side finished second with 108 points. In 2018, the team managed to jump to the second spot riding on the home series win over Bangladesh. They earned $ 500,000 for their second-place finish.
“It’s an awesome achievement for our side to finish second in the ICC Test Team Rankings and as a team we should be very proud. It’s come off the back of a lot of hard work and perseverance; not just by the eleven guys on the field, but the entire squad and support staff,” Kane Williamson said.
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