Dubai:India captain Virat Kohli overtoook Steve Smith to become the top-ranked batsman in Tests in the latest ICC ranking issued on Wednesday.
Kohli, who had struck a fine 136 in the day-night Kolkata Test against Bangladesh last week to reach 928 points, is now five points clear after Smith's knock of 36 in the Adelaide Test against Pakistan saw him slip to 923 points from 931 before the match.
Earlier,Virat Kohli had held the top spot for a long time before Steve Smith reclaimed the numero uno position with a mind-numbing 774 runs from 4 Tests in the Ashes series against England.
Kohli, who has 7202 runs and 27 hundred from 84 Tests, will not play any more Tests in 2019. However, Steve Smith with 7013 runs and 26 hundred from 70 Tests, will get the opportunity to reclaim the top spot in 2 Tests against New Zealand.
Australia opener David Warner's epic 335 not out lifted him 12 places to the fifth position while his teammate Marnus Labuschagne also rose to the 8th spot. Notably, he started the year at the 110th spot on the batting charts.
Meanwhile, India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane dropped a spot to 6th after making way for David Warner in the top 5. India now have 3 Indians in the top 10 with Virat Kohli leading the list and Cheteshwar Pujara at 4 and Rahane at the 6th spot.
India pacer Mohammed Shami gained one spot to move into the top ten rankings for the bowlers after his spectacular performances against South Africa and Bangladesh. While Shami stands at 10th, ace off-spinner R Ashwin is on ninth with Jasprit Bumrah on fifth. (UNI)
