Kohli moves ahead of Lara, closes the gap on Gavaskar
Dubai, Jan 28 (IBNS): ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 Virat Kohli has moved ahead of ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Brian Lara in the all-time career-high MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were updated today following the conclusion of the Johannesburg Test.
Second-ranked Kohli had started the third and final Test on 900 points and earned 12 points following contributions of 54 and 41. This means he is now on 912 points and in 26th position on the all-time list, which is headed by Don Bradman (961 points). Current number-one ranked batsman Steve Smith is second in the all-time list on 947 points.
While moving from 31st to 26th position, Kohli has leapfrogged Lara (911), Kevin Pietersen (909), Hashim Amla (907), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (901) and Michael Clarke (900).
Kohli now has his compatriot and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar - who peaked at 916 points following The Oval Test against England in 1979 – firmly within his sights. The India captain will now aim to gain five points and move ahead of Gavaskar either in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June or during the five-Test series against England in August/September.
Other batsmen to improve their rankings after the Johannesburg Test include Amla in seventh (up by one place), Dean Elgar in 12th (up by two places), Ajinkya Rahane in 18th (up by five places), while those heading in the wrong direction are Faf du Plessis in 14th (down by two places), Lokesh Rahul in 20th (down by two places), Quinton de Kock in 27th (down by seven places) and Aiden Markram in 48th (down by 10 places).
There is no change in the top five of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, where James Anderson comfortably leads Kagiso Rabada, Ravindra Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The only bowlers inside the top 20 to improve their rankings are Morne Morkel, who has moved up two places to ninth, and Mohammed Shami, who has risen two places to a career-best 15th position.
India’s trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are also on the charge.
Kumar has entered the top 20 for the first time in his career after lifting two places to take 20th position, Ishant Sharma is now in 26th spot after rising three places and Bumrah is at a career-high 46th position after vaulting 36 places.
Kumar and Shami have also improved their rankings in the all-rounders’ list, which is still headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. Kumar has lifted eight places to join Rabada in 12th position and Shami has moved from 27th to 17th.
All-time MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 28 January 2018):
BATSMEN
Team
POINTS
D.G. Bradman
AUS
961
S.P.D. Smith
AUS
947
L. Hutton
ENG
945
R.T. Ponting
AUS
942
J.B. Hobbs
ENG
942
P.B.H. May
ENG
941
G.S. Sobers
WI
938
K.C. Sangakkara
SL
938
I.V.A. Richards
WI
938
C.L. Walcott
WI
938
J.H. Kallis
SA
935
M.L. Hayden
AUS
935
A.B. de Villiers
SA
935
Mohammad Yousuf
PAK
933
R.G. Pollock
SA
927
E.D. Weekes
WI
927
K.D. Walters
AUS
922
A.D. Nourse
SA
922
M.E.K. Hussey
AUS
921
R.N. Harvey
AUS
921
J.E. Root
ENG
917
D.C.S. Compton
ENG
917
S.M. Gavaskar
IND
916
G.A. Headley
WI
915
K.F. Barrington
ENG
914
V.Kohli
IND
912
B.C. Lara
WI
911
K.P. Pietersen
ENG
909
H.M. Amla
SA
907
S. Chanderpaul
WI
901
M.J. Clarke
AUS
900
MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings (as on 28 January, following Johannesburg Test)
BATSMEN (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 947! 63.75 947 v Eng at Sydney 2018
2 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 912! 53.40 912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
3 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 881 53.28 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
4 ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 855 50.62 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
5 ( - ) David Warner Aus 827 48.77 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 ( - ) C. Pujara Ind 810 50.51 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
7 (+1) Hashim Amla SA 771 49.08 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
8 (-1) Azhar Ali Pak 755 46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
9 ( - ) D. Chandimal SL 743! 43.94 743 v Ind at Delhi 2017
10 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 742 46.35 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
11 ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 739 48.04 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013
12 (+2) Dean Elgar SA 736 42.07 740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017
13 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 699 49.92 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
14 (-2) Faf du Plessis SA 697 45.10 734 v Ind at Centurion 2018
15 ( - ) Jonny Bairstow Eng 692 39.12 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
16 ( - ) Kraigg Brathwaite Win 690 37.43 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017
17 ( - ) Usman Khawaja Aus 685 45.80 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017
18= (+1) Shaun Marsh Aus 660! 40.87 660 v Eng at Sydney 2018
(+5) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 660 43.68 825 v NZ at Indore 2016
20 (-2) Lokesh Rahul Ind 657* 40.50 761 v SL at Pallekele 2017
BOWLERS (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 887 27.40 896 v Win at Lord's 2017
2 ( - ) Kagiso Rabada SA 875 22.04 888 v Ind at Cape Town 2018
3 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 844 23.73 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
4 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 814 25.77 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
5 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 803 25.56 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
6 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 799 28.04 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
7 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 791 21.85 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
8 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 784 27.87 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
9 (+2) Morne Morkel SA 773 28.08 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
10= (-1) Nathan Lyon Aus 769 31.64 774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
(-1) Mitchell Starc Aus 769 27.73 805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016
12 (+1) Trent Boult NZ 725 28.56 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
13 (-1) Dale Steyn SA 722 22.32 909 v Win at Centurion 2014
14 ( - ) Yasir Shah Pak 704 29.44 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016
15 (+2) M. Shami Ind 703! 28.90 703 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
16 (-1) Stuart Broad Eng 683 29.33 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
17 (-1) Tim Southee NZ 682 31.45 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014
18 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 668 32.35 705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
19 ( - ) Keshav Maharaj SA 634* 26.78 695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017
20 (+2) B. Kumar Ind 626*! 26.09 626 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 438 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 391 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 368 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
4 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 358 /* 396 v Win at Lord's 2017
5 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 322 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!indicates career-highest rating
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