Watch: Virat Kohli receives ICC Test Championship Mace, sends special message to fans

Skipper Virat Kohli was presented with the prestigious ICC Test Championship Mace as India retained the top spot in the ICC Test Team Rankings.

On behalf of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the mace was presented by ICC Cricket Hall of Famers Sunil Gavaskar and Graeme Pollock at a ceremony at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town after India concluded the tour of South Africa by clinching the T20 International series 2-1, following a seven-run win in third match on Saturday.

India ensured the number one spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings and a prize of $1 million after their victory in the third Test at Johannesburg against South Africa last month. The win ensured that no team can move ahead of India in the Test rankings at the 3 April cut-off date.

India won the prize for a second year running and have now been at the top of the rankings since October 2016. They have also been at the top two times before under Kohli ‘ in January-February 2016 and in August 2016.

India’s longest stint at the number-one position was from November 2009 to August 2011, when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain. The other captains to have received …read more