ICC Test rankings: Virat Kohli closes gap with Steve Smith, Josh Hazlewood breaks into top five

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli has closed the gap with top-ranked Steve Smith in the latest update of the ICC Test rankings.

Kohli gained two rating points after his knock of 74 runs in the first innings of the Adelaide Test match against Australia and now has 888 points under his belt.

On the other hand, Smith was dismissed after scoring a solitary run in the first innings and thus he lost 10 points to slip to 901 rating points. Marnus Labuschagne scored 47 and 6 in the first Test match which lifted him to career best rating points of 839.

Australia’s skipper Tim Paine played a counter attacking knock of 73 runs in the first innings to help his team get close to India’s first innings score of 244 runs. Thus, Paine has taken the career-best 33rd place with 592 rating points.

Australia’s opener Joe Burns also got back into form with an unbeaten 51 in the second innings and the half-century helped him move to 48th place. In fact, this is the first time he has broken into the top 50 since December 2016.

On the other side, Ravichandran Ashwin scalped four wickets in the first inning and also picked a wicket in the second inning. These five wickets helped Ashwin gain a position and he is now placed at the ninth place to be the highest ranked Indian bowler. Ashwin now has 777 rating points whereas Jasprit Bumrah at the tenth place with 753 points.

Furthermore, Pat Cummins strengthened his lead at the top of the rankings as he gained six rating points to move from 904 to 910 after picking seven wickets in the first Test match at Adelaide Oval.

Josh Hazlewood who wreaked havoc with his five-wicket haul in the second innings vaulted by four places to make it into the top five in the bowlers’ rankings for the first time since December 2018.