ICC Test rankings: Kohli, Pujara hold their ground while Ashwin drops to sixth

03/06/2018

Virat Kohli and Test-specialist Cheteshwar Pujara held on to their second and sixth positions respectively on the batsmen's list, as off-spinner R Ashwin slipped to sixth in the bowler's rankings. Australian pacer Mitchell Starc climbed to a career-best ranking of five after his display versus SA.

The Indian team have been the undisputed number one Test team in the world for a while now, and a narrow loss to the Proteas team in January was merely a blip in their otherwise consistent performances. Skipper Virat Kohli recently claimed the Test mace from South African great Graeme Pollock in a ceremony conducted recently.

In a recent update in the ICC Test rankings, Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and Chesteshwar Pujara have managed to hold on to their respective positions at number two and number six on the list respectively. Kohli’s efforts in the three Tests versus the South Africans, which included a century, helped him secure his position. Pujara, on the other hand, had a dismal outing in the African continent but still managed to stay put at six.

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was overlooked for the Three-match Test series at the start of 2018, as the Indian team went for a bowling department comprising mainly of fast bowlers and supported by wrist spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav replaced Ashwin and Jadeja in the ODI series, and the duo justified their selection as they claimed a record 33 wickets in the Rainbow nation between them in the ODI series. After his omission, Ashwin dropped a spot from number five to six in the ICC Test bowlers rankings.

Australian speedster Mitchell Starc managed to reach a career-best fifth position on the bowler's list with his 'Player-of-the-match' performance in the Durban Test against South Africa. His performance in the first Test helped the visitors beat the Proteas by 118-runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. 28-year-old Starc finished with a match haul of 9/109, which helped him overtake South African bowlers Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander in the rankings.

Australian brothers Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh also made strides in the rankings after their display in the first Test. Shaun Marsh reached a career-best 16th position among batsmen after he scored 73 runs in Durban while younger brother Mitchell moved up to 43rd place after initially being placed at the 56th position.

ICC Test rankings: Kohli, Pujara hold their ground while Ashwin drops to sixth

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