Kane Williamson’s New Zealand are now the No.1 team in MRF ICC Test ranking after a 2-0 victory over Pakistan in the 2-match series that ended with hosts claiming an innings victory in the Christchurch Test.
On Wednesday, Kane Williamson-led New Zealand become the Number 1 in MRF ICC Test ranking after claiming a 2-0 victory against Pakistan in the 2-Match Test series. The hosts took away the Test series with a 2-0 clean sweep after a victory by an innings and 176 runs in the 2nd match.
The spectacular performance of Kyle Jamieson and captain Kane Williamson helped New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 176 runs on Day 4 of the 2nd Test at Christchurch. While Kyle Jamieson took a five-wicket haul in the 3rd innings, Kane Williamson led from the front and smashed double hundred in the 2nd innings.
Notably, New Zealand for the first time in the history of Test Cricket has claimed the Number 1 spot in ICC Test rankings. New Zealand has not lost a single Test match at home since 2017.
With this win over Pakistan, Kane Williamson’s team could find themselves in one of the two berths at the inaugural World Test Championship final, at Lord’s, in June. Williamson scored his 4th double hundred, 238, in Tests on Tuesday after reaching his 24th Test hundred on Monday.
“Even though the result on paper was very much in our favour, we know that when you are playing quality opposition, it’s the small margins,” Williamson, who was adjudged player of the series for his daddy hundreds, said after the victory.
“We won those small margins and had a bit of luck go our way as well.”
Meanwhile, both India and Australia have an opportunity to topple New Zealand if they manage to get the desired results in the ongoing four-match series between themselves. Australia just needs to win the series to replace New Zealand as the top-ranked Test side. On the other hand, India needs to win both the remaining Tests and finish the series with a margin of 3-1 in their favour to reclaim the top spot.
