Virat Kohli inches closer to Ricky Ponting's record in ICC rankings

Dubai, Dec 7 (CRICKETNMORE) - India skipper Virat Kohli's prolific run with the willow has helped him jump three spots to the second position in the latest ICC Test Rankings released on Thursday and inch closer to match Australian legend

Though 45 points separate him from No.1 ranked Australia captain Steve Smith, Kohli would be eyeing the chance of reaching the zenith in all three formats in the upcoming three-Test rubber in South Africa in January.

Smith is now on 938 points while Kohli is on 893 points.

Among other Indians moving northwards in the rankings are opener Murali Vijay (up three places to 25th) and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma (up six places to 40th). Pujara, however dropped two spots to No.4.

England captain Joe Root has retained his third spot after scores of nine and 67 in Adelaide while New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson dropped a spot to complete the top-5. 

For Sri Lanka, captain Dinesh Chandimal has gained eight places to a career-best ninth spot after finishing the series with 366 runs.