NO.1 ranked india team stayed there for just over 20 months. England's surge to the top of the Test rankings is th result of long-term planning by coach Andy Flower and Captain Andrew Strauss ever since they took over the reigns of the team in 2009, says pace spearhead James Anderson.

Andrew Strauss's side had started the series in third position behind South Africa and trailing top ranked India by eight ratings points.

To top the championship table for the first time under the current ranking system, which was introduced in June 2003, England had needed to win the series by a 2-0 margin or better.

With the new Test Championship confirmed, the top four teams will progress to the play-offs with seedings determined at the cut-off date around mid-January 2013.

The final Test match in this series will, therefore, also have meaning for this reason.