Virat Kohli holds onto top spot; Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant make big strides in Test rankings
Virat Kohli retained his spot at the top of the ICC Test rankings for batsmen after a decent performance in the two Test matches against West Indies in which he scored 80 runs in the last game. Meanwhile, Indian youngsters Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant made some good strides on the list too.
Domination would be an understatement when it came to India’s recent 2-0 Test series triumph against Windies. The Indians beat the Caribbean outfit by an innings and 272 runs in the first game and beat Jason Holder & Co. by 10 wickets in the second to seal the series. As a result of which Indian captain, Virat Kohli, held onto the top spot in the recent ICC Test rankings update for batsmen. Kohli scored a brilliant 139 in the first innings at Rajkot and followed that with a fine 80 in the next match at Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Test debutant Prithvi Shaw made some huge strides on the list as he found himself placed at the 60th place having entered the list at number 73 after a century on his debut. Shaw, who was also adjudged as man of the series, scored a brilliant 134 in the first win in Saurashtra. He backed that up with a 70 and 33 in the second match. Wicket-keeper cum batsman Rishabh Pant also found himself moving up in the list after a decent series with the senior team. The Delhi batsman began the series in 111th position and would be satisfied with the end result after he missed out on centuries in successive Tests, and was also dismissed for 92 in the opening match in Rajkot.
In other movements on the list, Mumbai-born batsman Ajinkya Rahane gained four places to reach 18th position after his knock of 80, while fast-bowler Umesh Yadav has gained four slots to reach 25th position in ICC rankings. The RCB bowler became only the third Indian fast bowler to claim a 10-wicket Test haul on home soil.
Meanwhile, Windies captain Jason Holder made some significant progress in all departments in the rankings. His 5/56 in India's first innings lifted him four places to a career-best ninth position amongst bowlers while a first innings half-century was good enough to help him gain three slots to reach the 53rd position in the batsmen’s list. Holder also moved ahead
