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Virat Kohli slips behind Steve Smith, Jasprit Bumrah moves to career-best spot in ICC Test Rankings
Virat Kohli might have led India to the two-match Test series win against West Indies, the Indian skipper on Tuesday lost his world number one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings for batsmen to Australia`s Steve Smith.
Virat Kohli might have led India to the two-match Test series win against West Indies, the Indian skipper on Tuesday lost his world number one spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings for batsmen to Australia's Steve Smith.
Kohli's side is currently standing at the top of the ICC World Test championship with 120 points after they won the first and second Test against the Caribbean side by 318 and 257 runs, respectively.
The win also saw Kohli surpass Mahendra Singh Dhoni to become the most successful Indian Test captain. Kohli has 28 wins to his credit from 48 matches in the longest format of the game, while Dhoni has scripted 27 Test wins from 60 matches.
However, Kohli--who scored 76 in the first innings of the second Test before being dismissed for a first-ball duck--has slipped to the second spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen behind Smith.
Smith, who was forced to miss the third Ashes Test against England due to mild concussion, has opened a single-point lead in the updated rankings released on Tuesday. He will further get a chance to extend his lead when he heads into the fourth match against Joe Root-led side, beginning Wednesday at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Notably, the former Australian skipper was maintaining the top spot in the rankings since December 2015. It was only after August 2018, when Kohli overtook Smith after the Australian was handed a year ban for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March 2018.
Meanwhile, India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane’s scores of 24 and 64 not out have lifted him four places to seventh position, the first time since August 2017 that he is in the top 10. Hanuma Vihari has gained 40 places to reach 30th position after knocks of 111 and 53 not out that won him the player of the match award as India completed a 2-0 win in the two-match series.
In the ICC Test rankings for bowlers, India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who became the third Indian after Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan to take a Test hat-trick during his first innings haul of six for 27, has moved to a career-best third position from seventh before this match. His tally of 835 rating points is the highest by an India seamer since Kapil Dev in February 1981.
For the West Indies, captain Jason Holder has moved from 11th to fourth after his six scalps that included a five-wicket haul in the first innings while Kraigg Brathwaite has also gained two spots to move to 93rd in the bowlers’ list, the ICC reported.
Among their batsmen, Shimron Hetmyer has gained one spot to reach 48th position while Jermaine Blackwood, who came in as a concussion substitute for Darren Bravo, has re-entered the rankings in 78th position after scoring 38 runs in West Indies’ second innings.