New Delhi: Team India's Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara's knock of 143 runs against Sri Lanka in the Nagpur Test resulted in a rise in the Saurashtra batsman's ICC Test rankings, propelling him to the No. 2 spot.
Pujara has previously held the number two ranking twice – after the Ranchi Test against Australia in March and Colombo Test against Sri Lanka in August.
Pujara garnered 22 points for his knock at the top of the order which has seen him jump two places in the latest ICC Test rankings released following India’s win over Sri Lanka and Australia’s 10-wicket win over England in the first Ashes Test. Pujara, now, has a career-high 888 points.
He thus leads skipper Virat Kohli by 11 points. Kohli himself has gained 60 points to go from 817 points to 877 points thanks to the fifth double-century of his career.
Meanwhile, at the top of the order, Steve Smith has extended his lead over the rest following a match-changing 141 run knock in the first innings at the Gabba in Brisbane. Smith’s 21st Test century helped him gain five points to reach 941 points. It has taken him to joint-fifth in terms of the highest points tally in batters history in Tests to stand right behind Sir Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs (942) Ricky Ponting (942), and level with Peter May (941).
England captain Joe Root is sitting third and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is occupying the fourth spot, while sixth-ranked David Warner of Australia is another 51 points behind Kohli. After Smith and Pujara, England captain Joe Root occupies the third spot, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is fourth, while Australia’s David Warner is 51 points behind Kohli.
Smith led Root, previously second in the rankings, by 47 points before the start of the Brisbane and Nagpur Tests, and now leads Pujara by 53 points.
In the bowler’s rankings, Ravindra Jadeja has also reclaimed the second spot. ‘Jaddu’ finished the eventual four-day Test with five wickets while conceding 84 runs. Mitchell Starc, too, has been rewarded for a great bowling effort – where he finished with 6/128 – to go up to 10th.
R Ashwin who became the fastest to 300 Test wickets has maintained his fourth place in the rankings while adding nine points to his tally to reach 849 points. James Anderson continues to lead the chart but has dropped five points after picking two wickets in the Ashes Test – he now has 891 points.
ICC Test rankings for batsmen
Steve Smith – 941 points
Cheteshwar Pujara – 888 points
Joe Root – 881 points
Kane Williamson- 880 points
Virat Kohli – 877 points
David Warner – 826 points
Hashim Amla – 795 points
Azhar Ali – 755 points
KL Rahul – 735 points
Dean Elgar – 732 points
ICC Test rankings for bowlers
James Anderson – 891 points
Ravindra Jadeja – 880 points
Kagiso Rabada – 876 points
R Ashwin – 849 points
Rangana Herath – 807 points
Josh Hazlewood – 798 points
Nathan Lyon – 753 points
Dale Steyn – 748 points
Neil Wagner – 745 points
Mitchell Starc – 744 points
ICC Test rankings for all-rounders
Shakib Al Hasan – 438 points
Ravindra Jadeja – 414 points
R Ashwin – 389 points
Ben Stokes – 388 points
Moeen Ali – 379 points
