ICC Test Rankings may re-shuffle, India can move up to second position

Virat Kohli will have to lead his team from the front if they want to move up the Test rankings

The month of November is going to be very competitive for Test cricket when number one-ranked South Africa clashes against fifth-ranked India in a four-match series and number two-ranked Australia hosts sixth-ranked New Zealand in a three-match series, including the first-ever day/night Test in Adelaide. Both series will kick off from Thursday, November 5.

These four sides, as well as fourth-ranked Pakistan and third-ranked England, who are currently battling it out in the Sharjah Test, are separated by only a margin of 26 points in the ICC Test Championship. Therefore, at the conclusion of all three series, the rankings may witness radical changes.

India-South Africa rankings:

In this series, India will have an opportunity to climb to second position, a fraction of a point behind South Africa. However, to make it happen, it will have to win all four Tests. On the other hand, South Africa will shoot to 130 points and retain their supremacy while India will plummet to 96 points if the visitors win all four Tests.

The following is the four-match series permutations for India and South Africa:

India vs South Africa scenarios	India Points	South Africa Points
Pre-series	India is ranked 5th with 100 points	South Africa is ranked 1st with 125 points
Ind 4 SA 0	112 (rank 2nd)	112 (rank 1st, by fraction of a point)
Ind 3 SA 0	110	114
Ind 2 SA 0 OR Ind 3 SA 1	109	116
Ind 1 SA 0 OR Ind 2 SA 1	107	118
Ind 0 SA 1 OR Ind 1 SA 2	101	124
Ind 0 SA 2 OR Ind 1 SA 3	100	126
Ind 0 SA 3	98	128
Ind 0 SA 4	96	130
Ind 2 SA 2 OR Ind 1 SA 1	104	121

Pakistan-England rankings:

If Pakistan wins the final Test, then it will move marginally ahead of Australia into second place for the first time in nearly in a decade, while England will drop behind New Zealand to sixth position by a fraction of a point. In the case of England winning the Test, both sides will retain their pre-series rankings and points.

Australia-New Zealand rankings:

Australia will have to win the series by 1-0 or better to ensure it stays ahead of Pakistan (if Pakistan wins 2-0). In this series, Australia can rise to as high as 110 points, but can also drop to as low as 99 points. In contrast, New Zealand will gain seven points if it wins 3-0 but will slip to 94 points if Australia sweeps the series.

The ICC Test Championship table will be updated following the conclusion of the India-South Africa series.