India rose to the World Series rankings after Bangladesh’s win

Despite a strong rearguard action from Bangladesh veteran Shakib Al Hasan (84), the hosts’ last four wickets fell before lunch on the final day as India drew first blood in the two-match Test series.

Spinners Axar Patel (4/77) and Kuldeep Yadav (3/73) did most of the damage as they shared seven Bangladesh wickets in the second innings between them, and India rose to the World Series ranking as a result.

India get a valuable 12 points thanks to the win and now have a win percentage of 55.77 as they finish in the top two at the end of the current World Cup season.

With the win, India leapfrog Sri Lanka to third in the current standings, with leaders Australia and second-placed South Africa the only other teams.

The good news for India is that the two teams are currently battling it out in their respective three-match series in Australia, which means that India might be able to go further in the remaining time of their series in Bangladesh.

The second and final Test of the series begins in Mirpur on Thursday and another win there could even move India closer to the top two teams.

India will host Australia for four Test matches in February and March next year and need to finish in the top two spots in the league table to reach back-to-back World Cup finals.

New Zealand beat Rohit Sharma’s side in the World Cup final at Lords last year and will be looking to make amends for that defeat if they qualify for the 2023 decider.