KOHLI CLOSES GAP ON SMITH AT THE TOP OF ICC TEST RANKINGS

Dubai: Despite the defeat in the first Test, India skipper Virat Kohli managed to fractionally close the gap on Australia’s Steve Smith at the top of the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings from 25 points to 13 points.

Kohli’s first innings of 74 enabled him to gain two points, whereas Smith’s 1 & 1* lost him 10 points in the table. In the latest rankings announced by the ICC on Sunday, Smith has 901 points while Kohli has 888. With the ball, Pat Cummins took seven wickets in the match to gain six points and move from 904 to 910, which is a comfortable lead over Stuart Broad (845) in second place. Australian pacer, Josh Hazelwood’s astonishing figures of 5/8 in India’s second innings helped him gain four spots and move back into the top five with 805 points, the first time since March 2018.

With four wickets in Australia’s first innings, India’s R. Ashwin has overtaken Jasprit Bumrah as India’s top-ranked bowler, currently in ninth place.