Coached by Rahul Dravid and captained by Rohit Sharma, Team India on Friday achieved a historic feat by becoming only the second Men’s team ever to attain the number 1 ICC ranking in all three formats. This feat was first achieved in men’s cricket by Graeme Smith’s South Africa in August 2012.
Already the number 1 ranked Test and T20I team, India moved the number 1 spot in the ODIs when they secured a 5-wicket victory over Australia in the 1st ODI in Mohali, displacing Pakistan from the numero uno spot.
India could, however, also slip down to back to the second spot if Australia make a comeback and win both the matches.
Nonetheless, the achievement of this record just before the World Cup 2023 helps India send out a massive statement to the other teams and also to their own fans about their strength and stability in the side.
Pakistan had gone up to the number 1 spot, replacing Australia, during the Asia Cup 2023 with wins over Nepal and Bangladesh. However, they then lost back-to-back matches to India and Sri Lanka. India then defeated Sri Lanka in the final and now record a win over Australia to go top of the ranking.
Australia have suffered a slide recently. They defeated South Africa in the first two ODIs but then lost three in a row to lose the series, and now have lost four consecutive matches with this loss to India.
India also have individual players ruling the ICC ranking. Suryakumar Yadav is the No. 1 batsman in T20Is, Mohammed Siraj is the No. 1 bowler in ODIs; R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are at the top of the bowling and allrounder charts in Test ranking.
Fans heap praises on Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma:
This recent success and new record of being the number 1 team in all three formats led to the fans hailing head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. The duo have faced plenty of criticism in the past but with now the team looking very settled, both of them got high praise from the fans and experts.
Here are some reactions of fans:
