ICC Test Rankings | Virat Kohli retains top spot as Cheteshwar Pujara enters top five again
Virat Kohli has managed to retain his top spot in the latest ICC Test rankings as Cheteshwar Pujara entered the top five after he registered scores of 123 and 71 in the first Test in Adelaide. Amongst the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah made a significant jump and achieved a career-high ranking of 33.
India made their way to a 31-run win against Australia in the series opener at the Adelaide Cricket Ground on Monday with Cheteshwar Pujara starring for the visitors with the bat, scoring 123 in the first innings to keep India in the game on day one. His service was once again needed in the second innings where he scored 71 to be adjudged as man of the match in the first game of the five-match series.
And his runs have brought him fruition instantly as he has now leapfrogged Englandâs Joe Root and suspended Australian batsman David Warner to number four on the list. The Saurashtra batsman trails third-ranked Smith by 55 points and leads Root by 39 points.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Virat Kohli did enough to secure his position at the top of the list for batsmen but has conceded only 15 points to slip to 920 points, which is just seven points ahead of Kane Williamson. Williamson scored 89 and 139 in Abu Dhabi last week which helped New Zealand register a convincing 123-run victory over Pakistan to leapfrog Steven Smith to the second spot in the batsman rankings.
Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has achieved a career-high ranking of 33rd after he secured three wickets for 47 and three for 68 in Adelaide, which helped him to rise five places. The other two notable players who moved up in the rankings from the Adelaide Test are Ajinkya Rahane in 17th and Mitchell Starc in 16th. Meanwhile, newcomers, Australia's Marcus Harris entered in 116th batting position, while off-spinner William Somerville of New Zealand emerged in 63rd spot. Also, Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has emerged at 111th place.
