India captain Virat Kohli’s commanding century in the day-night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata has helped him bridge the gap with top-ranked Steve Smith from 25 to three points for the first time in the latest ICC Test player rankings this week.
India fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav reached career-high points tally after victory while opener Mayank Agarwal has reached the top 10 after India defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs.
Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim has gained four slots to reach 26th position after scoring a fighting 74 in the second innings of the Kolkata Test while Liton Das is up eight slots to 78th position.
Elsewhere, Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and New Zealand’s Bradley-John Watling achieved career-best positions after their match-winning centuries. Watling is now the top-ranked wicketkeeper-batsman, having overtaken South Africa’s Quinton de Kock.
Watling is not the only one New Zealand cricketer to gain big. Neil Wagner’s eight-wicket match haul has catapulted him to a career-best third position with a tally of 816 rating points, the third best ever by a New Zealand bowler after Richard Hadlee (909 points) and Trent Boult (825).
England all-rounder Ben Stokes is in the top 10 list for batsmen for the first time after scores of 91 and 28 helped him gain three slots, while Joe Denly and Rory Burns have also made notable progress.
Labuschagne’s score of 185 that helped Australia to victory over Pakistan by an innings and five runs in Brisbane has taken him from 35th to 14th place, while Watling’s 205 in Tauranga not only helped New Zealand beat England by an innings and 65 runs, but has also lifted him 12 spots to 12th position.
In August, when summoned as a concussion substitute for Smith in the Lord’s Test, Labuschagne was 95th in the ranking. The other Australia batsmen to advance in the latest rankings update include opener David Warner (up six places to 17th), Joe Burns (up 11 places to 62nd) and Matthew Wade (up four places to 70th) while fast bowler Josh Hazlewood has moved from 13th to joint-ninth in the bowlers’ list.
