India surrender their world No. 1 Test ranking to England

The third Test at Edgbaston had a lot on the line for India; the series, their reputation and the No.1 Test ranking.

Year 2011. Team India was in the middle of a purple patch. It was the No.1 Test side in the world and the world champions in One-Day International (ODI) cricket, having won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The team had a nice blend of experience and youth, for if there were the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid to guide the side with their experience, youngsters and next generation players like Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir et al too were coming through the ranks. Overall, the side wore a settled look and was ready for its next assignment after the World Cup win, which was a Test series in England. ALSO READ: James Anderson credits Zaheer Khan for helping him reach the summit.

Indians arrived on the English soil beaming with confidence. However, their morale got a huge setback when on the first morning of the first Test, the spearhead of their attack Zaheer Khan injured himself and got ruled out from the remainder of the match and the series. India were effectively one bowler short in the match, something which the Englishmen exploited to the fullest and amassed a massive score riding on Kevin Pietersen’s hundred. India could never really recover from the blow and went on to lose the match. The first Test set the tone for the series, as India lost the second game too, by another big margin. ALSO READ: Permutations and combinations on how India can become No. 1 Test team in ICC Rankings.

The third Test at Edgbaston had a lot on the line for India; the series, their reputation and the No.1 Test ranking. England needed to win the series by a margin of two or more Tests to become new No. 1 in the world ever since the new ratings came into place from 2003. Winning the toss, they put India into bat and dismissed them for a modest 224. In reply, riding on Alastair Cook’s epic 294 and Eoin Morgan’s 104, England posted a mammoth 710 for 7 declared. India, in reply, could only delay the inevitable, as their performance till that point in the series had not been inspiring.

They were soon 7 for 130. Skipper MS Dhoni and Praveen Kumar entertained with their pyrotechnics for a while but the English bowlers soon wrapped up the innings to register an innings and 242 runs’ win. With this loss, India also surrendered the No. Test team’s tag which they were carrying since 2009. Things did not stop here, as India also went on to lose the fourth and the final Test. The whitewash in England was not going to be India’s only low-point in 2011. Towards the end of the year, the Dhoni-led squad was blanked by the mighty Australians Down Under. These overseas losses, which were repeated in 2014, remained the lowest ebb in Dhoni’s otherwise successful captaincy record.