Virat Kohli no.1 in test rankings, Pandya jumps 27 places in all-rounder rankings

Virat Kohli no.1 in test rankings: Indian captain was rewarded for his terrific performance against England in the third test.

Indian captain Virat Kohli is back to number 1 in the ICC test rankings. ICC released the latest rankings earlier today, where Virat Kohli displaces Steve Smith at the top among batsmen. The Indian skipper now has 937 rating points, a career-best for him. He’s now only 1 rating point away from breaking into the top-10 all time highest rating points in the history of test batting rankings.

Virat Kohli scored 97 and 103 respectively over the two innings against England in the third test at Trent Bridge. Both of his innings were central to India’s victory in the test, thus keeping the series alive for the touring nation.

Among all-rounders, Hardik Pandya has made a humongous jump from 44th to 17th. Pandya took five wickets in the first innings and also scored an important half century in the second innings in the third test. Pandya also moves 8 spot above in the batting’s rankings, and is now at 51st position.

England’s captain Joe Root, however, took a fall of two positions in the batsmen rankings. Root is now placed 5th. Steve Smith remains at second spot.

The Indian captain had earlier slipped to 2nd position in the rankings after failures in both the innings of the second test match at Lord’s, where he could only score 23 and 17 respectively. Virat Kohli earlier toppled Steve Smith after the first test at Edgbaston.

Also read: India’s predicted XI for 4th test against England

Kohli is still 24 rating points away from breaking the record of highest points ever scored (961), which is currently held by Sir Donald Bradman.

Among bowlers, Mohammad Shami took a fall of four positions and is out of the top-20. Jasprit Bumrah, however, has climbed up to 37th position in the latest rankings.