More than 77 years after India began playing Tests, M S Dhoni's men have a real chance of going where no Indian team has before - the summit of

With Sri Lanka still needing 59 runs to make India bat again, and just four wickets to go, the ICC world No 1 Test ranking is tantalizingly within reach.

If achieved, it would be a fitting slot for a team that hasn't lost a Test series since August 2008 in Sri Lanka and has since proceeded to sort out ‘mystery spinner' Ajantha Mendis in no uncertain terms.

Before that, they lost narrowly to Australia in Australia - and even that was a bitter, scrappy affair in which they ran the then world champions down to the wire and would probably have drawn the series, but for the intervention of Steven Bucknor at Sydney.

India may have lost that series, but it was clearly on the right track, with the batsmen no longer cowed by lively tracks or short-pitched pace. Remember, during that series India beat Australia at Perth, considered a fast bowler's dream pitch. Just as importantly, the team finally had an attack that could match fire with fire, while also boasting the traditional Indian strengths of guile and tweak.

Long described as tigers at home but lambs abroad, India had briefly turned the tide under Sourav Ganguly. Even after he left the hot seat, India notched up some important wins, like the series win in England. But Rahul Dravid's abrupt resignation plunged Indian cricket into a fresh round of confusion after the chaos of the Greg Chappell era.

Enter Anil Kumble, the first bowler to captain India since Ravi Shastri led in a single Test in 1987-88. Kumble's vision document conveyed the need for focus and dedication. His mantra: Play fearless cricket and stop quibbling about factors you can't control, like the toss or the wicket. During his stint, the team found its feet again.

Kumble's exit paved the way for M S Dhoni. Having led India to victory at the first T20 world championship and the final Australian tri-series, Dhoni had already established his leadership credentials. His calm-but-ruthless style has worked equally well in Tests.

India, if they seal victory against Sri Lanka on Sunday, will become the world's No.1 Test team. The climb to the top began almost two years ago under the captaincy of Anil Kumble.

Pakistan were comfortably beaten under Kumble but the sole blip came in Sri Lanka, a 1-2 loss made possible by the confounding deliveries of the freakish Mendis. Since then, the team hasn't looked back.

Back at home, Australia were decisively humbled even as the smoothest of transitions, from Kumble to Dhoni, ensured there would no hiccups. England were beaten after an emotional Test that saw Sachin Tendulkar make arguably his greatest century ever, which he promptly dedicated to the victims of 26/11.

The final frontier was then conquered: victory in New Zealand after 41 years. Sri Lanka arrived in India ranked world No. 2 but has been decisively dominated; Murali defanged, Mendis hit out of the playing XI.

Some sections in the foreign media have already begun questioning whether India deserves to be No. 1. Well, Team India might not be head and shoulders above the opposition like Australia used to be, but they can certainly lay claim to being first among equals.

India made Australia look pedestrian in India and matched them Down Under. South Africa have been held here and memorably, in Johannesburg, given a scare.

India's batting lineup is arguably the best in the world, having delivered against all attacks, in all conditions. Tendulkar and Sehwag would walk into any World XI right now, Dravid and Gambhir would be strong contenders at the very least. While the team might not have the most potent attack around, it's one of the most versatile. And Dhoni is one of the canniest and most confident captains around.

MUMBAI: India became the number one team in Test rankings after they spanked Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third and final Test, on

Needing just four wickets to record an emphatic victory, the hosts took just about 40 minutes to polish off the visiting team's tail to record their second consecutive innings victory.
Resuming at 274/6, the Sri Lankans lost their heroic captain Kumar Sangakkara (137) in the very first over and were bundled out for 309 with Zaheer Khan being the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 5/72.

The Sunday crowd at the Brabourne Stadium, hosting a Test match after a gap of 36 years, witnessed a historic moment as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men crowned themselves the number one team.

The crowd erupted into a frenzy as Muttiah Muralitharan edged a flighted delivery from Harbhajan Singh to Dhoni to bring down the curtains on the Lankan innings.

The Indian players hugged each other and a beaming coach Gary Kirsten greeted them as they returned to the pavilion.

The victory has given India three points in the ICC rankings, taking their overall tally to 122 and leaving them ahead of South Africa and Sri Lanka in the ICC table.

The teams will now gear up for two Twenty20 matches in Nagpur and Mohali followed by a five-match One-day series which begins at Rajkot from December 15.

The match would be best remembered for the blazing 293-run knock that Virender Sehwag played. The right-hander, however, missed out on becoming the first batsman in the game's history to score three triple tons.

Such was India's dominance that Dhoni's men completed the comprehensive victory in just 7.4 overs this morning.

Zaheer hastened Lanka to their doom by claiming three of the last four wickets to finish with his eighth five-wicket innings haul.

The 31-year-old pacer's figures in the morning sessions read an astonishing 4-1-21-3. Sri Lanka needed 59 more runs to make India bat again but with just four wickets in hand to start the day, only a miracle could have saved the match for them.

After having brought down the visitors to their knees last evening, India dismissed Sangakkara off the third ball to start their victory march.

Zaheer swung the ball a bit away and Sangakkara, who struck his 20th four off his previous ball, was drawn to it like a magnet but only managed to edge it to counterpart Dhoni.

He could add only four runs to his overnight score and fell for 137 in 349 minutes after having prevented the hosts from sweeping to victory last evening.

Zaheer then dismissed Rangana Herath in his third over, caught by a diving Pragyan Ojha at short mid-wicket while attempting a pull.

Muthiah Muralitharan then used the long handle against Zaheer by carting the bowler for three fours in one over before the left-arm pacer sent back overnight unbeaten batsman Nuwan Kulasekara.

Kulasekara, resuming at 9, could not negotiate a rising ball from Zaheer and edged it to second slip fielder VVS Laxman. He added 10 more runs including two boundary hits to his individual score.

Harbhajan then brought down curtains on the match by having Muralitharan caught behind as he tried an almighty heave to give Dhoni his sixth catch in the match.

Spinners Harbhajan, who looked unimpressive for the major part, and Pragyan Ojha finished with two wickets apiece for 80 and 84 runs respectively while S Sreesanth bagged 1 for 36.

It was the second successive innings victory for India following their resounding win by an innings and 144 runs in the second Test at Kanpur. The first Test at Ahmedabad was drawn.