Bangladesh National Cricket Team overtakes Pakistan Test Team to become higher-ranked team in ICC Test Rankings for the first time after finishing their series levelled with Australia Test Team. Pakistan still finds itself behind Bangladesh Test Team in the recently announced ICC Test Rankings. On Friday, ICC updated its rankings, placing Pakistan below Bangladesh Test Team for the first time ever.
The Bangladesh Test squad drew a remarkable tie against Australia in the two-test series, scoring 1-1. The Bangladeshi side convincingly won the home test series against Australia, securing a 1-1 tie following their loss in the initial test series held in Adelaide.
Bangladesh made it to sixth place after clinching its highest-ranked position ever on the ICC Test Team Rankings table as the team won its first-ever Test series triumph over Australia.
With this landmark win, Bangladesh Test team marked its maiden Test series win over Australia, thereby registering its highest-ranked position ever on the ICC Test Team Rankings table.
Based on the latest ranking update, Bangladesh stands at number six, Sri Lanka has secured seventh spot, and Pakistan is at eight place. Australia maintains its leading spot, South Africa stands second, and New Zealand continues occupying the third spot. India has taken the fourth spot, whereas England takes fifth rank in Test Rankings announced by International Cricket Council (ICC).
This development indicates an interchange between Bangladesh and Pakistan in ICC Test Rankings, where both teams are placed among the bottom half ranks despite being from South Asia region.
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Bangladesh registered a convincing nine-wicket win in the first Test against Australia in Brisbane, registering Bangladesh’s historic first-ever Test win on Australian soil. The match proved pivotal to Bangladesh’s ascent up the rankings table due to how difficult it is for overseas sides to beat the Australians at home in the longest version of the sport.
Australia managed to come up with a remarkable performance in the second Test against Bangladesh and secured victory by an innings and 51 runs, tying the series 1-1. Although the series ended up being tied, Bangladesh's first-ever Test win was enough for them to earn ranking points that helped them surpass both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the overall rankings.
On the other hand, Pakistan was defeated heavily in the opening Test of their three-match series against host nation England. The loss played a direct role in pushing Pakistan down in the rankings, allowing Bangladesh to leapfrog Pakistan in the ICC Test rankings ladder amid tough times for Pakistan Test cricket during their tour.
Two more Tests remain to be played between the two teams in this particular series, meaning Pakistan has other chances left in the coming weeks to bounce back in terms of ranking points.