Dubai, Dec 7 (IBNS) : India captain Virat Kohli has moved up three places to grab second position among batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings, after registering his career-best score in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka, which ended in a draw in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Kohli’s first-innings knock of 243 was followed with 50 as he finished with 610 runs in the series, which India won 1-0.
Kohli, who slammed back-to-back double-centuries and recorded three-figure scores in three consecutive matches, started the series in sixth position but has leapfrogged David Warner, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kane Williamson and Joe Root after the stupendous run which saw him average 152.50.
Though 45 points separate him from Australia captain Steve Smith, Kohli would be eyeing the chance of reaching the zenith in all three formats since he is the current No. 1 in ODIs and T20Is. Smith though has been in a different league and last week reached 941 points, the joint fifth-highest in terms of the highest points tally in batting history in Tests. Smith is now on 938 points while Kohli is on 893 points.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is the only batsman to have been at the top in all three formats at the same time – in December-January 2005-06, while his compatriot Matthew Hayden is the other batsman to have topped all three formats.
Though Smith enjoys a substantial lead over Kohli, the competition for second to fifth positions remains intense. Before this Test, only 11 points separated second-ranked Pujara from fifth-ranked Kohli. Following the latest performances, the gap has increased slightly with 28 points now separating second-ranked Kohli from fifth-ranked Williamson.
In the latest rankings, which also take into account the second Test between Australia and England in Adelaide which the home side won by 120 runs, and the first Test in Wellington in which New Zealand defeated the Windies by an innings and 67 runs, opener Murali Vijay (up three places to 25th) and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma (up six places to 40th) are the other India batsmen to move up.
For Sri Lanka, captain Dinesh Chandimal has gained eight places to take ninth position after finishing the series with 366 runs, the first time he has moved into the top 10. All-rounder Angelo Mathews has moved up seven places to 23rd position after scoring 111 in the first innings while Dhananjaya de Silva’s match-saving 119 in the second innings has lifted him nine places to 47th position.
For Australia, left-hander Shaun Marsh’s unbeaten 126 in the first Test in Adelaide has lifted him six places to a career-best 27th position while pace bowlers Mitchell Starc (up two places to eighth) and Pat Cummins (up two places to 43rd) are the others to move up.
England captain Joe Root has retained his third spot after scores of nine and 67 in Adelaide and Mark Stoneman has gained 18 slots to take 83rd position. Chris Woakes has moved up five places among bowlers to reach 28th position after finishing with five wickets in the match.
For New Zealand, Tom Blundell has entered the rankings in 70th position. The 27-year-old, who featured in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2010 in New Zealand, became the first wicketkeeper from his country to score a century on Test debut. His team-mate Colin de Grandhomme, who had played in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2004 for Zimbabwe but later moved to New Zealand, has gained 35 places to reach 75th position after also notching a ton.
For the Windies, opener Kraigg Brathwaite has gained two slots to reach 17th position while Kemar Roach (up three places to 20th) and Miguel Cummins (up four places to 77th) are among the main gainers.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, India has lost one point but remains well ahead of South Africa at the top of the rankings, while Sri Lanka remains on its pre-series tally of 94 points in sixth place.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 7 December, after the third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka in New Delhi, the second Test between Australia and England in Adelaide, and the first Test between New Zealand and the Windies in Wellington)
Rank Team Points
1 India 124 (-1)
2 South Africa 111
3 England 105
4 New Zealand 97
5 Australia 97
6 Sri Lanka 94
7 Pakistan 88
8 Windies 75
9 Bangladesh 72
10 Zimbabwe 02
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 7 December, after the third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka in New Delhi, the second Test between Australia and England in Adelaide, and the first Test between New Zealand and the Windies in Wellington):
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 938 60.40 941 v Eng at Brisbane 2017
2 (+3) Virat Kohli Ind 893 53.75 895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017
3 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 879 53.05 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
4 (-2) C. Pujara Ind 873 52.96 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
5 (-1) Kane Williamson NZ 865 50.66 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
6 ( - ) David Warner Aus 815 48.18 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
7 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 795 49.87 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
8 ( - ) Azhar Ali Pak 755 46.62 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
9 (+8) D. Chandimal SL 743! 43.94 743 v Ind at Delhi 2017
10 ( - ) Dean Elgar SA 732 42.30 740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
17 (+2) K. Brathwaite Win 678 37.28 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017
23 (+7) Angelo Mathews SL 640 44.27 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
25= (+3) Murali Vijay Ind 636 41.57 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015
27 (+16) Shaun Marsh Aus 626! 38.88 626 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
40 (+6) Rohit Sharma Ind 565* 42.45 578 v NZ at Wellington 2014
47= (+1) Henry Nicholls NZ 533* 33.70 536 v SA at Wellington 2017
(+9) D. de Silva SL 533* 42.30 612 v Zim at Harare 2016
70 (NEW) Tom Blundell NZ 417*! - 417 v Win at Wellington 2017
75 (+35) C.de Grandhomme NZ 396*! 34.55 396 v Win at Wellington 2017
83 (+18) Mark Stoneman Eng 365*! 31.75 365 v Aus at Adelaide 2017
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 894 27.34 896 v Win at Lord's 2017
2 (+1) Kagiso Rabada SA 876! 22.71 876 v Ban at Bloemfontein 2017
3 (-1) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 870 23.73 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
4 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 829 25.44 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
5 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 799 28.04 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
6 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 786 25.97 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
7 (+2) Neil Wagner NZ 785! 28.05 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
8 (+2) Mitchell Starc Aus 775 27.54 805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016
9 (-2) Nathan Lyon Aus 774! 31.47 774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
10 (-2) Dale Steyn SA 748 22.30 909 v Win at Centurion 2014
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
20 (+3) Kemar Roach Win 613 29.44 774 v SA at Centurion 2014
28 (+5) Chris Woakes Eng 543* 31.48 609 v Pak at The Oval 2016
43 (+2) Pat Cummins Aus 394*! 25.96 394 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
52= (+3) Mitchell Santner NZ 325* 38.96 335 v Ind at Kolkata 2016
56 (+11) L. Sandakan SL 294* 37.20 319 v Aus at Galle 2016
76 (+18) Lahiru Gamage SL 193*! 46.30 193 v Ind at Delhi 2017
77 (+4) Miguel Cummins Win 182* 45.15 307 v Ind at Trinidad 2016
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 438 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 415 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 (+1) Ben Stokes Eng 380/* 396 v Win at Lord's 2017
4 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 369 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
5 ( - ) Moeen Ali Eng 352 409 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
Image: www.bcci.tv
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