Big blow! Team India slip behind Australia, South Africa in ICC Test Rankings after BGT disaster

Team India's dismal run in Tests continued with the humiliating 3-1 loss in the recently-concluded five-match series against Australia. It was the second series defeat in a row for the Rohit Sharma-led side in the longest format of the game.

After the 3-0 loss against New Zealand at home, Team India needed a good result in Australia to revive their World Test Championship campaign. However, Rohit Sharma & Co. failed to come up with a good performance as Australia thoroughly dominated Team India.

The tour started on a good note for the Indian team. In the first Test, India registered a 295-run win over the hosts in Perth. However, things went only downhill after that victory. Australia won the second Test in Adelaide by 10 wickets before the third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw with rain playing spoilsport.

In the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Australia beat India by 184 runs to take the lead in the series for the first time. India's performance did not improve much in the fifth Test as well.

The visitors needed to win the Sydney Test at any cost to avoid a series loss against Australia for the first time since 2014/15. However, Australia thrashed them by six wickets to reclaim the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.

Team India drop in ICC Rankings:

The loss in Australia have not only ended India's unbeaten streak against Australia and denied them a spot in the WTC final but has also seen them slipping to the No. 3 position in the latest ICC Test team rankings.

Australia are currently at the top of the rankings with 126 rating points. They are followed by South Africa who recently beat Pakistan 2-0 in the series. The Proteas have 112 rating points. On the other hand, India have 109 rating points.

Before the series began, South Africa were at number three behind India who were at the second spot. With South Africa winning against Pakistan and India losing against Australia, both the teams interchanged their positions in the ICC Rankings.

Latest ICC Test Rankings for teams: