India retained the ICC Test Championship after finishing on top of the Test rankings with 116 points. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced it on Monday. They will get the mace and prize money of $1 million after finishing on the number spot till the cut-off date of April 1.

This was the third year in a row for Team India that they won the Test Championship mace. New Zealand is currently behind India with 108 points.

India's head coach Ravi Shastri congratulated the team for their splendid achievement. "Congratulations Guys on the outstanding effort. The penny will drop. 3 years on the trot. Home and so-called Away in the purest format of the game. Enjoy ???????? ????," Shastri wrote.

India lost the series in South Africa 1-2 and then went on to lose the five-Test series in England 1-4. 

They defeated Afghanistan in a one-off Test and also beat Windies at home 2-0 in the two-Test series. Their biggest achievement came when Virat led side defeated Australia in their home by 2-1.

"Retaining the ICC Test Championship Mace once again is something we are all really proud of. Our team has been doing well across formats but it gives us extra pleasure to come out on top of the Test rankings. We all know of the importance of Test cricket and of how only the best can prosper in the format," Kohli said. "Our team has a lot of depth and I am sure this will stand us in good stead once the ICC World Test Championship commences later this year. That is again something we are really looking forward to as it adds more context to Test match cricket."