ICC rankings: Virat Kohli is now No.1 Test batsman
As per ICC rankings, Virat Kohli is now the No.1 Test batsman. Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s out of this world performances in the first test match against England saw him move to the top of the ICC rankings for test batsmen on Sunday. The Indian batsman overtook Australian Steve Smith after culminating a total of 934 rating points after his incredible showing in both the innings of the Edgbaston test. He left behind Steve Smith who is on 929 points. Apart from this swap in positions there was no other change in the top 10 list.
Good news finally came in for Kohli after the ICC released its new rankings for test batsmen. Having had to face defeat despite delivering an enthralling and exquisite display of batting on a pitch where the ball swung at the speed of light, Kohli was ultimately given some reward for his heroics by the International Cricket Council. His 149 in the first innings and 51 in the second saw him reach a career high and 14th overall of 934 points which were enough for the world’s best batsman to reach the top of the pile.
Kohli became the seventh Indian batsmen ever and the first after Sachin Tendulkar to reach this position in ICC rankings. This is the first time since 2011 that an Indian batsman has been at the top of the world in test rankings. Apart from Kohli and Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Dilip Vengsarkar are the other India batsmen to have achieved the number-one rankings during their careers.
Another tremendous performance from India’s captain come the second test can see him break into the top 10 for overall career points. If the ever hungry and determined batsman still needed any sort of motivation then this is it.
Poor showing from the rest of the Indian batting line-up ended up seeing them slip down the rankings.KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane all fell down the rankings after failing miserably in the recently concluded test match against England.
MRF Tyres Test Player ICC Rankings
(as on 5 August, following Edgbaston Test)
BATSMEN (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 (+1) Virat Kohli Ind 934! 54.28 934 v Eng at Edgbaston 2018
2 (-1) Steve Smith Aus 929 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018
3 ( – ) Joe Root Eng 865 52.18 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
4 ( – ) Kane Williamson NZ 847 50.35 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
5 ( – ) David Warner Aus 820 48.20 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 ( – ) C. Pujara Ind 791 50.34 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
7 ( – ) D. Karunaratne SL 754! 37.28 754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018
8 ( – ) D. Chandimal SL 733 44.96 755 v Win at St Lucia 2018
9 ( – ) Dean Elgar SA 724 41.05 784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
10 ( – ) Aiden Markram SA 703* 47.27 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
BOWLERS (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) James Anderson Eng 884 27.19 896 v Win at Lord’s 2017
2 ( – ) Kagiso Rabada SA 882 21.71 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
3 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 857 23.11 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
4 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 826 21.54 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
5 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 825 25.17 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
6 ( – ) Pat Cummins Aus 800*! 23.81 800 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
7 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 795 27.84 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
8 ( – ) Rangana Herath SL 791 27.95 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
9 ( – ) Neil Wagner NZ 765 28.26 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
10 ( – ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 759 26.84 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 420 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 ( – ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 385 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 ( – ) Vernon Philander SA 370 379 v SL at Galle 2018
4 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 359 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
5 ( – ) Jason Holder Win 354/* 355 v Ban at Jamaica 2018
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