India vs England: Virat Kohli drops in ICC rankings, Root climbs to No. 3 after Chennai Test

Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli dropped to No. 5 in the latest ICC Test Rankings, while his English counterpart Joe Root climbed two spots up to claim third place after scoring a match-winning double century in his side's recent 227 runs over India in the first Test.

Root, who became the first-ever batsman to score a double century in his 100th Test, scored an aggregate of 258 runs in the Chepauk Test. While he overtook Kohli in the rankings, he is also ahead of the Indian skipper for the first time since November 2017, according to a release from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"Root is now 36 points behind top-ranked Kane Williamson and trails Steve Smith by only eight points. With Marnus Labuschagne also in the mix, competition for the top five slots is intense with all of them above 850 rating points," ICC wrote in the release.

In a post-match interview after the 227-run loss in Chepauk on Tuesday, Kohli admitted that a collective poor effort with the ball in the first innings led to their downfall in the first Test. Root scored an excellent double century in the first innings after opting to bat and helped England put up 578 runs, which was their second highest total in Tests on Indian soil. Interestingly, their highest total in India had also come in Chennai – 652 for 7, declared in 1985.

By going 1-0 up in the four-match series, England broke India's incredible 14-match unbeaten streak in home Tests. It was India's fourth loss in a home Test in the last decade. Team India had last lost a home Test in February 2017 in Pune against Australia.

While Root equalled Michael Vaughan as England captain with most Test wins (26), the Root-led England also became the first team to defeat India in a Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, breaking India's eight-match unbeaten streak at the venue.

Indian skipper Kohli now has suffered four losses in a row in Test cricket and the unfortunate run includes India's losses in Wellington and Christchurch against New Zealand last year in February, then a loss against Australia in day-night Test in Adelaide and now the 227-run defeat to England in Chennai. This is the first time Kohli has lost as many Tests in succession. Before this, he had won seven Tests in a row, which is a record among Indian Test captains.

The ongoing Test series between India and England is a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-21. New Zealand have qualified for the final and the result of the Test series between India and England will determine which of the three: India, England, or Australia, will face off against the Kiwis at Lord's Cricket Ground in June.