Virat Kohli 2 points away from overtaking Steve Smith as top Test batsman
Virat Kohli, who scored a career-best 254 not out against South Africa in the Pune Test, is within touching distance of Steve Smith at the top of the ICC batsman's rankings.
In Short
- Virat Kohli has moved to 936 points in the ICC Test rankings
- Steve Smith, with 937 points, is still the No.1 Test batsman
- Ajinkya Rahane has also moved into the top-10 of the Test rankings
Virat Kohli is two points away from dethroning Steve Smith as the No.1 Test batsman in the ICC rankings after a career-best 254 not out against South Africa in Pune.
Steve Smith is currently the No.1 batsman with 937 points while Virat Kohli has 936 points.
Virat Kohli scored his first Test hundred of 2019 and his 7th Test double hundred as India crushed South Africa by an innings and 137 runs in the second match in Pune.
Kohli had claimed the No.1 rank and had occupied the spot for a while as Steve Smith served out a 1-year ban due to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal.
However, it did not take Smith to reclaim the top spot during the Ashes series against England recently.
Smith hit 774 runs at a Bradman-Esque average of 110.57 in the 5-match Ashes series despite missing. He missed out on a Test due to delayed concussion.
Virat Kohli, meanwhile, had an average Test series in the West Indies after the first Test against South Africa in Vizag, his points tally dropped below for the first time since January 2018.
In Vizag, Kohli managed just 20 runs in the 1st innings and was unbeaten on 31 in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test that India won by 203.
Meanwhile, Ajinjkya Rahane got back into the top 10 while Mayank Agarwal continued to climb up the ladder and is now at a career-best No.17 in the ICC Test rankings.
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