Virat Kohli replaces Steven Smith as No.1 Test batsmen in ICC rankings
A brilliant 149 and 51 in the two innings at Edgbaston ensured that Virat Kohli displaces the banned Steven Smith as the number one Test batsman in the latest ICC batsman's rankings. Amongst the bowlers, James Anderson held onto the top spot as he is trailed by Kagiso Rabada by two points.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli looked to be a man on a mission as he scored mesmerizing 149 in the first innings to keep his team in the game and then scored a hard-fought 51 in the second innings as well. Despite his individual brilliance, the Indian batting line-up faltered because of which they ended up on the losing side as the home team registered a 31-run win.
Kohli’s performance with the bat over the course of the match was enough for him to displace banned Australian cricketer, Steven Smith, and become the top-ranked Test batsman in the latest update on the ICC rankings list. In doing so, Kohli became the seventh Indian batsman, and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to be at the top of the rankings list for batsmen.
Smith, who was ranked number one since December 2015, now trailed the Indian captain by five points but will not be eligible to play any form of international cricket until at least March 2019 after Cricket Australia placed a 12-month suspension due to his involvement in the ball-tampering fiasco in South Africa earlier this year.
Apart from Kohli and Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Dilip Vengsarkar are the other Indian batsmen be ranked as the top Test batsmen over the years.
Another big change in the rankings list came in the form of 20-year-old all-rounder Sam Curran. The left-handed batsman, who is the younger sibling of pacer Tom Curran, scored 24 and 63 with the bat, and claimed match figures of 5 for 92 due to which he was adjudged the Man of the Match. As a result of his performance in England’s historic 1000th Test, he moved from 152nd to 72nd spot in batting rankings while the bowling list saw him rise 49 places to 62nd position. He also ranked 37th in the all-rounders category which was a jump of 58 places prior to the first Test.
Amongst the bowlers, James Anderson retained his number one ranking although his lead over South Africa's Kagiso Rabada was now reduced to only two points. however, both Stuart Broad and Mohammad Shami dropped one and two spots each as they were now ranked 13th and 19th on the list respectively.
