To the top, logically

Like so many other success stories in India, the Test team's rise to No. 1 has been almost despite the system, not rather that because of it, writes Anand Vasu in the Hindustan Times. The move to ensure that India plays more Tests is a step in the right direction and can help this format regain its popularity.

To stay at No. 1, for starters, India need to play more Test cricket more consistently than they do. South Africa could topple India on January 18 (the day the series ends) if they beat England 2-0 or more convincingly. Australia are never more than few points from the top, and they play Pakistan at home in the same period. The good news is that the whitewashes and routs that were the norm when India played abroad from the fifties till the seventies are a thing of the past, and the team now consistently beat the best in their own backyard.