Virat Kohli holds retains top spot in Test rankings; Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma make strides
Virat Kohli’s 123 in the first innings in Perth was enough for him to hold on to the top spot in the latest update for batsmen in the ICC Test rankings. Meanwhile, Indian bowlers Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah continued to make positive strides amongst the bowlers.
Despite a disheartening loss in the second Test in Perth, the Indian players have made some positive advances in the recent ICC Test rankings update which were released today. Indian captain Virat Kohli scored a brilliant 123 in the first innings which helped him hold onto the top spot with 934 points with Kane Williamson in the second position and a tally of 915 points. Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara still remains in the top five with 816 points, comfortably ahead of Joe Root.
Amongst the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah continued his swift progress up the list as he moved to number 28 in the bowlers' rankings. The Baroda-born pacer bagged five wickets in the second Test against Australia. Bumrah’s teammates, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma also made significant strides up on the list. Shami, who was wicket-less in the first innings, returned with 6/56 in the second, which got him to number 21 on the list. Delhi-born pacer Ishant Sharma also picked up five wickets which helped him overtake England spinner Moeen Ali to number 26 on the list.
Amongst the all-rounders, India's Hanuma Vihari made significant jumps in all the three rankings charts. The spinner cum batsman climbed up to 65 in the all-rounders' list and now is now ranked at 84 in the bowler’s list. Vihari is ranked at number 110 (up by 12 places) in the batting charts.