ICC Test rankings: Virat Kohli maintains top spot, Cheteshwar Pujara surges to the fourth spot

Following India’s Test win in Adelaide, skipper Virat Kohli maintained his top spot in the ICC Test rankings while Cheteshwar Pujara made a return to the top five.

It was Pujara who played crucial knocks (123 in the first innings and 71 in the second innings) to put India into positions of advantage at the Adelaide Oval. The Saurashtra batsman has toppled David Warner and Steve Smith to move to the fourth spot. He is 55 points short of third-ranked Smith who is currently serving a 12-month ban for his involvement in ball-tampering.

Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has attained a career-best ranking of 33rd as he gained five places following his figures of 3/47 and 3/68 in the two innings.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson broke the 900-point barrier in the ICC rankings after his match-winning performance against Pakistan in third Test which helped his side clinch an away series victory in 49 years. Williamson is the first New Zealand player to cross the 900-point mark.

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His knocks of 89 and 139, which helped New Zealand win the deciding Test by 123 runs, saw him gain 37 points in the rankings and propelled him to the second spot with a career-high rating of 913 points.

Kohli, with 920 points would have to put up a strong performance in the second Test in Perth if he has to maintain his slender lead over Williamson. Kohli barely managed scores of three and 34 in the Test match where his side emerged victorious by 31 runs.

Ajinkya Rahane gained two places to move to the 17th place while Australian speedster Mitchell Starc also gained a similar number of places to go to the 16th spot.

There has also been the arrival of a few newcomers in Test cricket. Australian opener Marcus Harris now holds the 116th spot. Among the bowlers, New Zealand’s William Somerville grabbed the 63rd place while Pakistan teen sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi has moved to the 111th place.

Image credit-DNA India