Steve Smith dethrones Virat Kohli to regain top spot in ICC Test rankings

Virat Kohli's poor show with the bat in the first Test against New Zealand affected his ranking in the latest ICC Test Rankings for batsmen as he lost the top spot to Steve Smith.

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Steve Smith dethrones Virat Kohli to regain top spot in ICC Test rankings
(AP/Reuters Photo)

In Short

  • Steve Smith regained the top spot with 911 points in the Test rankings
  • India skipper Virat Kohli is now ranked 2nd with 906 points to his name
  • R Ashwin is the only Indian bowler in the top 10 of ICC Test rankings

Australia run-machine Steve Smith moved past India captain Virat Kohli to reclaim the No.1 Test batsman. Kohli dropped 5 points after a poor outing in both the innings of Wellington Test as India skipper scored only 2 runs in the first innings of India's 1st Test against New Zealand and was dismissed for a 43-ball 19 in the second innings.

Virat Kohli has now slipped to No.2 in the ICC rankings for Test batsmen with 906 points. Steve Smith leads Kohli by 5 points. Other than Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane (760), Cheteshwar Pujara (757) and Mayank Agarwal (727) occupy the next 8th, 9th and 10th positions respectively.

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Meanwhile, Kohli's counterpart Kane Williamson surpassed Australia's batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne to regain the 3rd spot in ICC Test rankings on the back of his match-winning innings of 89 runs at the Basin Reserve.

India pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami dropped points and slipped from the top 10 ranked bowlers, leaving R Ashwin as the only Indian in the top 10, ranked No.9 with 765 points.

However, Kiwi veteran pacer Tim Southee jumped eight spots in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers, courtesy match-winning returns of 9/110 in the first Test between India and New Zealand.

Twin failures from Virat Kohli in the 1st Test put massive pressure on India in the 1st Test that they lost by 10 wickets after setting a target of just 9 runs to New Zealand.