Dubai: India have retained the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Championship Mace as they secured the number one spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings while New Zealand have ensured second place.

India secured 116 points and under the captaincy of world number one Test batsman, Virat Kohli, obtaining the top position was never really a doubt. While New Zealand’s consistent performance over the past year helped them climb from the third position and are just eight points behind India.

“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,” ICC quoted Virat Kohli as saying.

“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,” he added.

India bagged prize money of USD 1 million while New Zealand bagged USD 500,000. South Africa finished third with 105 points while Australia finished fourth with 104 points winning prize money of USD 200,000 and USD 100,000 respectively. (ANI)

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