India become No 1 ranked team across all formats for first time

India’s five-wicket win over Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series Friday in Mohali helped the Men in Blue become the No. 1 ranked side in the 50-over format and achieve a historic feat. Having already occupied the top spot in Tests and T20Is, India are now the No 1 side across all formats. This is only the second team in men’s cricketing history that a team has achieved the No. 1 ranking across all formats. South Africa were the first team to achieve this feat back in August 2012. At the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohammed Shami took a five-wicket haul , and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav smashed fifties as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the series which also allowed India (116 rating points) to replace arch-rivals Pakistan (115) at the top of ODI rankings and make history. Australia are third in the ODI rankings with 111 rating points. India will remain the No. 1 side in ODIs going into the Cricket World Cup 2023 if they win the series against Australia. After their defeat, the Aussies don’t stand a chance to go top of the rankings in ODIs but Pakistan could still make it if India lose the remaining two matches. Team India has also had a brilliant run in Tests and T20Is which has helped them scale to the top spot in the respective rankings. Earlier this year they played in their second consecutive World Test Championship Final. Their last bilateral Test series defeat had come in South Africa in 2021-22. In T20Is, India have lost just one out of 14 bilateral series since the 2021 T20 World Cup. They also reached the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.