The Black Caps 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh has seen them overtake Pakistan on the Test team rankings
New Zealand rise up ICC Test rankings
New Zealand have lifted themselves to fifth position on the ICC Test rankings after completing a 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh in Christchurch.
In a rain-interrupted second Test at Hagley Oval, Kiwi pacemen Tim Southee, Neil Wagner and Trent Boult claimed three wickets each in the second innings on day four to set their team on the path to victory.
The win sees them overtake Pakistan on the ICC Test charts, with Misbah-ul-Haq's men slipping to sixth position after briefly ascending to top spot last year.
India remains atop the Test rankings with 120 points, followed by Australia (109) and South Africa (107).
Bangladesh, which started the series at 65 points, has slipped to 62 points to complete a forgettable tour of New Zealand.
Image Id: 08F6F2ED45D448CEA24623D39C1CFACAThey lost all three one-day Internationals, all three Twenty20 Internationals and also lost a limited overs tour game against a New Zealand XI.
New Zealand held a 65-run advantage after the first innings before blasting out the tourists for 173.
New Zealand took just 18.4 overs to race to 1-111 and leapfrog Pakistan – who they defeated 2-0 in November – in the world rankings.
The Black Caps confronted a competitive Bangladesh outfit in the first Test in Wellington before claiming a seven-wicket triumph.
But the Tigers fielded an inexperienced line-up in the second Test, with captain Mushfiqur Rahim, opening batsman Imrul Kayes and No. 3 Mominul Haque all sidelined.
In the end, New Zealand cruised to victory and gained two points from the series win, which moved them one point ahead of sixth-placed Pakistan and three behind England in the rankings.
New Zealand had plenty of reasons to celebrate, with swing specialist Tim Southee – who was named man of the match after the success at Hagley Oval – becoming the fifth Black Caps player to reach 200 Test wickets.
Southee claimed eight wickets in the win, including a haul of 5-94 in the first innings.
Former captain Ross Taylor also became the third Kiwi to pass 6000 Test runs during the match.