Premier India batter Virat Kohli has made gains in the latest ICC Test rankings to return to the top 10 after a fine half-century in the second innings of the first Test against South Africa. He is currently placed at the ninth spot with a four-position jump.
Kohli scored 76 runs in the second innings of the Centurion Test but it wasn’t enough for India to avoid an embarrassing defeat. He also scored 38 in the first innings. The star battery returned to the top 10 after more than a year as he was dropped out of the tally in 2022.
However, he is 103 rating points away from leader Kane Williamson, while Joe Root and Steve Smith took the second and third place respectively.
Meanwhile, after a flop outing in Centurion – 5 and 0, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has dropped to 14th spot.
Wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul also made big gains in the rankings as he jumped 11 slots to move to 51st after scoring 101 and four in the series opener.
As for bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin remained on the top spot, despite managing one for 41 in Centurion, while Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah were at fourth and fifth places respectively.
Jadeja continued to lead the all-rounders’ list, followed by Ashwin in the second place, while Shardul Thakur dropped to 34th.
India sits at the top spot in the team ranking, on 118 points, ahead of Australia and England.
Meanwhile, the Australians made gains in the rankings after a win over Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test. With Mitchell Marsh’s flurry leading to the most noteworthy change, moving 16 place up to 52nd (504). Mohammad Rizwan enjoyed a four-place leap after his aggressive knock, while Travis Head kept his top 10 spot despite a quiet Boxing Day Test and a four-spot dip, with a rating of 754.
New Zealand Kane Williamson still holds a marginal lead (864) from Joe Root (859), with Australia’s Steve Smith (820) in third looking to climb during the Sydney Test beginning on Wednesday.
On the Test bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah re-entered the rankings following his return to Test cricket, positioned in fifth (767), marginally behind compatriot Ravindra Jadeja (774). Marco Jansen’s efforts led to a three-place jump to 22nd (618), though saw an five-place jump in the all-rounder rankings to 8th, moving to a career-best rating of 268.
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