Virat Kohli to receive ICC Test mace after 3rd Test

"On behalf of the ICC, former India captain and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar will make the presentation immediately after the awards ceremony for the series," an ICC press release stated. 

"The mace was produced by the then British Crown Jeweller, Asprey & Garrard, in 2001, which was commissioned to make a distinctive prize designed to stand out from other cricket trophies," the ICC added.

India had narrowly lost out on taking the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings during the West Indies series. Rain had played spoilsport on the team's chances in the last Test even as Pakistan drew their Test series with England to leapfrog into the No.1 spot past India and Australia, who were having a miserable Asian outing in Sri Lanka. However, Kohli and co have wasted no time in getting to the top of the rankings with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing New Zealand tour of India and look to extend that into a 3-0 whitewash at the Holkar stadium in Indore.

India will, however, overtake their neighbors at the top of the rankings, irrespective of the result of the third Test, when the ICC updates them at the end of the series.

Interestingly, tomorrow will be the fourth time India have reached the No.1 spot since the inception of the ICC rankings in 2003. While the first instance was in November 2009, India have had short claims to the throne twice this year - in January and in August.

It promises to be a longer reign at the top this time, what with India set to play at home for the foreseeable future in a 13-Test long season – with 3 already in their pocket.