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Virat Kohli jumps to fourth spot in ICC Test rankings after brilliant show at Vizag against England

Virat Kohli slammed his 14th Test hundred against England at Visakhapatman and amassed 248 runs from two innings as hosts won the match by 246 runs.

Virat Kohli jumps to fourth spot in ICC Test rankings after brilliant show at Vizag against England

New Delhi: Indian Test captain Virat Kohli has jumped to 10 places to reach a career-high fourth position in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. Kohli's ranking saw a significant rise after his good show in the second Test against England, where he slammed his 14th Test ton.

ICC confirmed the news in a statement released today. Kohli, who recently became the first cricketers to score two double Test centuries as Indian skipper, slammed his 14th Test ton against Alastair Cook's men in the first innings. Even in the second innings, he produced a brilliant knock of 81 runs.

India won the second Test by 246 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Kohli is currently top-ranked in Twenty20 Internationals and has also held the top position in One-Day Internationals, but has never moved above 10th place in Tests. However, his sublime knocks of 167 and 81 in Visakhapatnam have helped him move up further as he crossed the 800-point mark for the first time, becoming only the 11th India batsman to do so.

For his efforts in Visakhapatnam, Kohli has earned 97 points. The 28-year-old from Delhi, who led his side to victory in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, now trails second-ranked Joe Root of England by 22 points. Another strong performance in the Mohali Test, which begins on Saturday, 26 November, will mean he will edge closer in his quest to top the batting table.

Middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has gained one place to reach ninth rank after scoring 119 and one, while the England pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and all-rounder Ben Stokes have also made significant gains. Bairstow has moved up four places to reach 12th position after scoring 53 and 34 not out, while Stokes has moved up five slots to 28th position after scoring 70 and six.