ICC Rankings: Pakistan slip down to 5th place, Australia remain 2nd

What’s the Story?

The Pakistan cricket team’s dismal form led to them losing 5 points in the latest ICC Rankings and thus dropping down to fifth place. Meanwhile, Australia, who demolished Pakistan in the three-match Test series gained four points and have consolidated on their 2^nd place and are just 11 points behind leaders India.

Rankings

ICC Test Rankings

Rank	Team	Points
1	India	120
2	Australia	109 (+4)
3	South Africa	102
4	England	101
5	Pakistan	97 (-5)
6	New Zealand	96
7	Sri Lanka	96
8	West Indies	69
9	Bangaladesh	65
10	Zimbabwe	05

In case you didn’t know...

Pakistan have been on a down ever since achieving the no.1 Test rank after their successful outing against England last year, and their latest Test series against Australia proved to be another disappointment for them.

In the final Test, Australia defeated Pakistan by 220 runs. It looked like the Pakistani batsmen might have been able to give a gritty fight to chase the mighty total of 465 set by the Australians, but in typical fashion, they crumbled yet again and were bowled out for 244, thus losing the match. David Warner, who scored a blazing half-century yesterday and a brilliant century in the first innings was named the man of the match whereas captain Steve Smith was awarded the man of the series award.

The heart of the matter

After losing the 3 match Test series against South Africa 2-1 in their own backyard, the Australian cricket team bounced back in brilliant fashion to inflict a 3-0 whitewash on Pakistan. They will be looking to gain back the no. 1 Test ranking when they travel to India but will have their task cut-out as they would have to win the 4 match Test series 3-0 in order to dethrone India.

What’s next?

Australia will face Pakistan in a 5 match ODI series which begins on January 13^th, after which they will travel to India for a 4 match Test series which begins on February 23^rd at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune.

Sportskeeda’s Take

It will be extremely difficult for Australia to dethrone India as the Virat Kohli-led side doesn’t look like they are in any mood to take things lightly. After dismantling England and New Zealand over the past few months without losing a single Test, Steve Smith’s side will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat if they want to achieve success against the Indian side. On the other hand, Pakistan, who are going from bad to worse will have to seek some sort of inspiration and make some major changes in order to get back to their winning ways.