Bangladesh lost the second Test of the two-match by an innings and 51 runs in Mackay within two days. But they had already created history in Darwin, beating the No.1 Test team in the world by nine wickets. The 1-1 series draw was enough for them to overtake West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the rankings.

Ahead of the series, Najmul Hossain Shanto and his men were placed ninth in Tests, but they gained five points to jump to sixth with 78 rating points. This is also the first time they have risen above No.9 in the longest format of the game. 

Meanwhile, Australia remain on top of the rankings despite failing to win the series against Bangladesh. However, they lost five rating points to slip from 131 to 126. South Africa, New Zealand, India and England complete the top five, respectively.

Latest ICC men’s Test team rankings after Australia vs Bangladesh series

Rank

Team

Matches

Points

Ratings

1

Australia

27

3411

126

2

South Africa

19

2256

119

3

New Zealand

22

2336

106

4

India

26

2714

104

5

England

32

3158

99

6

Bangladesh

24

1878

78

7

Sri Lanka

16

1222

76

8

Pakistan

19

1427

75

9

West Indies

27

2008

74

10

Zimbabwe

13

217

17

Also read: Updated WTC standings after Australia beat Bangladesh to level series

Getting to No.6 is a huge achievement, but we want to play in Australia more: Najmul Hossain Shanto

Bangladesh skipper Shanto called the jump in rankings a ‘huge achievement’ but rued the visitors’ performance in the second Test. He also called for more Tests in similar conditions for Bangladesh.

“Of course [reaching No. 6] is good news,” Shanto said after the second Test in Mackay. “I am just hearing about it. To reach No 6 in the Test ranking is a huge achievement. It would have been better if we could have played better cricket in this Test match.”

“We are here after 23 years,” he added. “It's not easy to compete in this condition against this quality of team. If we are able to come here consistently, then the players can get an idea of playing here. They will have experienced playing in Australia more. They can adjust to this kind of condition and play good cricket.

“My request is we want to play here. We want to play similar kind of conditions consistently, not after 23 or 25 years.”

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