ICC Test Rankings: Virat Kohli achieves personal best ratings; Murali Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha rise in batting rankings
In the latest ICC Rankings released on Tuesday, Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has jumped two places to find enter into the Top 20 of the Test Batsmen Rankings for the first time in his international career.
The 29-year-old smashed an explosive 82 in the first innings of the one-off Test against India in Hyderabad last week and made 22 in the second innings, as a result gaining the rise in the rankings.
His teammate Mahmadullah also has achieved his career-best rankings of 45, jumping by five places on the list.
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For India, skipper Virat Kohli gained 20 points for the double century he made against Bangladesh in the one-off Test. While that did not help him go past Steve Smith to the top of the table, it did help him achieve his highest ever rating points at 895. It is also the third highest rating points achieved by an Indian player, behind Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.
Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha also jumped up a few places in the rankings, owing to their respective centuries in the Hyderabad Test. The former gained one spot, rising to the 26th spot, while the latter climbed 12 places, rising to the 57th position in the rankings.
KL Rahul, who had a poor Test, slipped 8 places on the rankings, falling from 49th to the 57th place in the rankings.
In the bowler’s rankings, Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his top spot while Ravindra Jadeja was in second position. The two are separated by a mere 10 points now and it will be interesting to see whether the latter can go past the former during the course of the next four Test matches.
Extra Cover: India vs Australia 2017: India announce 16-member squad for first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series vs Australia
India and Australia will square off in a four-match Test series starting in Pune from the 23rd of February and it will be interesting to see who wins the battle for the best batsman in world cricket.
Kohli has had an amazing last 12-15 months with the bat while Smith, along with David Warner have been the lynchpins for the Australians and will be expected to do the bulk of the scoring in Indian conditions.