Virat Kohli has managed to close in on Steve Smith after his knock of 74 in the first innings of the Adelaide Test in the ICC Test rankings. As per the latest rankings released on Sunday, the Indian captain reduced the difference from 25 points to 13 following his first innings score of 74, which helped him gaining two points.
Virat Kohli gained two points for his half-century to get to 888 while Smith (911) lost 10 points in the table after scoring 1 and 1 in his two innings. He was destined for a big century but a complete mix-up with Ajinkya Rahane ended his stay in the first innings.
Virat Kohli closes the gap with Steve Smith
Meanwhile, Australian test skipper Tim Paine has gained a few points after his unbeaten 73 in the Australian first innings. He top-scored for his side as he played a counter-attacking knock in reply to India’s 244 in the first innings. He is placed on career-best 33rd with 592 points following his man-of-the-match effort in Adelaide.
Marnus Labuschagne’s innings of 47 and 6 in the low-scoring match pushed him to a career-best 839 points in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen.
Also Read: MSK Prasad Hints At Several Changes in Boxing-Day Test in Melbourne
Virat Kohli gains two points to reduce the gap between him and Steve Smith in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Player Rankings for batting 🎉
Full list 👉 https://t.co/OMjjVwOboH pic.twitter.com/LbUovKuEf6
— ICC (@ICC) December 20, 2020
Josh Hazlewood Achieves Career-Best Rankings
🌟 Josh Hazlewood storms into top 5️⃣
🌟 R Ashwin climbs up one spot to No.9️⃣Check out the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Player Rankings for bowling 👉 https://t.co/OMjjVwOboH pic.twitter.com/aoIIhBUiPH
— ICC (@ICC) December 20, 2020
Meanwhile, in the ICC bowler’s rankings, Josh Hazlewood after his fifer in Adelaide has stormed into the top five rankings. He is now on 805 points. The table is still topped by Pat Cummins with 910 points followed by Stuart Broad (845) and Neil Wagner (840). Ravichandran Ashwin(777) has dropped down to number nine despite his impressive show in the first innings.
Jasprit Bumrah is another Indian bowler in the top 10 placed on the tenth position with 753 points. Ravindra Jadeja, who did not play the Adelaide Test, was unchanged at number three in the all-rounders’ list.
Meanwhile, former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has hinted at a number of changes in the Indian playing XI in the Boxing-Day test in Melbourne starting from December 26. India’s batting collapse in Adelaide has made the chief selector think hard on the possible changes in the line-up and he has come up with a few. As per PTI, Prasad has hinted at a few major changes in the line-up after India was humbled by the Aussies in Adelaide.
Also Read: Ricky Ponting, Sunil Gavaskar Bats For Rohit Sharma’s Inclusion In Next Tests
