Indian captain Virat Kohli, on Monday, became his country’s most successful captain in Test cricket, but the victory has come at a price of him losing the No.1 spot to Australia’s Steve Smith in the recently announced ICC Test Rankings for Batsmen.
Kohli scored 76 during his first innings of India’s second Test against West Indies, and was dismissed on a golden duck in the second by Kemar Roach. This allowed the former Australia captain, Smith, who missed the third Ashes Test at Headingley, to overtake Kohli in the rankings, which were announced on Tuesday.
Having acquired the top spot since December 2015, Smith lost his place in the standings while serving his ban over the ball-tampering controversy. The 30-year-old, however, made his way up by scoring two centuries and a 161-ball 92 in his first three innings of the ongoing Ashes series. And as Australia prepare for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Smith has a perfect opportunity of extending his one-point lead to a comfortable margin.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane has returned to the Top-10 list, and acquires seventh spot in the rankings.
As far as bowlers are concerned, pacer Jasprit Bumrah has moved to his career-best ranking of No.3 after delivering a scintillating performance against West Indies. During India’s two-match Test series, the 25-year-old scalped 13 wickets in the midst of becoming the fastest Indian pacer to 50 Test wickets. He also took a hat-trick in the second Test, which made him only the third Indian to do so.
In other progressions, West Indies captain Jason Holder also gained places and now acquires the No.4 spot in the rankings.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks
