Top ranked Steve Smith career-high rating after Pune Test

Smith has not only consolidated his position at the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen but has also attained rating points which are the sixth-best ever after Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs and Ricky Ponting (both 942) and Peter May (941). Gary Sobers, Viv Richards and Kumar Sangakkara all had career-high ranking points of 938.

Smith, who scored 27 and 109 in Pune to gain six points, now leads India captain Virat Kohli by 66 points while England batsman Joe Root is 91 points behind him at third place with 848 points.

Australia batsman Matt Renshaw has moved up 18 places to a career-best 34th position scoring 68 and 31 while opener Lokesh Rahul has made an 11-slot gain to reach a career-best 46th position after scores of 64 and 10 for India, which folded for only 105 and 107 in the two innings in Pune to lose in three days.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Australia’s left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe has rocketed up 33 slots to a career-best 29th place after figures of 12 for 70 which earned him the player of the match award. O’ Keefe’s figures are the cheapest 12-wicket haul in Test cricket, beating ICC Hall of Famer George Lohmann’s 12 for 71 against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1896.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin remains at the top of the bowlers’ rankings with 878 points after taking seven wickets but his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja now has company at second spot as Josh Hazlewood has caught up with him at 860 points, the Australia pace bowler’s career-best. India pace bowler Umesh Yadav’s six wickets in the match have seen him gain four slots to reach 30th rank.

Meanwhile, Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc has moved up three slots in the list of all-rounders to fourth position after his fighting knocks of 61 and 30. Starc, who is ranked 10th among bowlers, has also moved up 27 places in the list of batsmen to a career-best 61st rank.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 26 February, after the first Test between India and Australia in Pune)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team   Pts       Avge   Highest Rating
   1       ( - )       Steve Smith      Aus      939!     60.34   939 v Ind at Pune 2017
   2       ( - )       Virat Kohli         Ind       873      50.72   895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017
   3       ( - )       Joe Root           Eng      848      52.80   917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
   4       ( - )       K.Williamson     NZ        823      50.07   893 v Aus at Perth 2015
   5       ( - )       David Warner    Aus      805      48.70   880 v NZ at Perth 2015
   6       ( - )       Hashim Amla    SA        787      49.99   907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
   7       ( - )       Azhar Ali           Pak      779      47.07   787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
   8       ( - )       Younus Khan    Pak      772      53.06   880 v SL at Lahore 2009
   9       (+1)      Q. de Kock       SA        760*    51.04   769 v SL at Cape Town 2017
  10      (+1)      AB de Villiers     SA        755      50.46   935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

Other selected rankings

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team   Pts      Avge   Highest Rating
  34      (+18)    Matt Renshaw   Aus      595*!   59.14   595 v Ind at Pune 2017
  46      (+11)    Lokesh Rahul    Ind       518*!   38.30   518 v Aus at Pune 2017
  61=    (+27)    Mitchell Starc    Aus      446!     25.36   446 v Ind at Pune 2017
  94      (+3)      Mitchell Marsh   Aus      337*    22.79   340 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team   Pts      Avge    Highest Rating
   1       ( - )       R. Ashwin         Ind       878      25.07    904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
   2=     ( - )       R.Jadeja           Ind       860      24.25    879 v Eng at Chennai 2016
            (+1)      J. Hazlewood    Aus      860!     24.72    860 v Ind at Pune 2017
   4       ( - )       R. Herath          SL        827      28.31    867 v Zim at Harare 2016
   5       ( - )       K. Rabada        SA        821*!   21.76   821 v SL at Johannesburg 2017
   6       ( - )       Dale Steyn        SA        819      22.30   909 v WI at Centurion 2014
   7       ( - )       J. Anderson      Eng      810      28.50   884 v SL at Durham 2016
   8       ( - )       Stuart Broad     Eng      803      28.54   880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
   9       ( - )       V. Philander      SA        798      21.40   912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
  10      ( - )       Mitchell Starc    Aus      777      28.16   805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016

Other selected rankings

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team   Pts      Avge    Highest Rating
  29      (+33)    Steve O'Keefe   Aus      507*!   20.34   507 v Ind at Pune 2017
  30      (+4)      Umesh Yadav   Ind       501*    36.83   509 v WI at Antigua 2016

All-rounders (top five)

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team   Pts      Highest Rating
   1       ( - )       R. Ashwin         Ind       448      493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
   2       ( - )       S. Al Hasan       Ban      441      443 v NZ at Christchurch 2017
   3       ( - )       R. Jadeja          Ind       372      407 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017
   4       (+3)      Mitchell Starc    Aus      347!     347 v Ind at Pune 2017
   5       (-1)       Ben Stokes       Eng      327 /*  351 v Ind at Mohali 2016