Virat Kohli grabs top spot in ICC Test batting rankings

London, Aug 6 - India captain Virat Kohli on Sunday became the top-ranked batsman in Test cricket for the first time in his career as he ended Australian Steven Smith's reign of nearly 32 months. Kohli scored 149 and 51

In the bowlers' table, Stuart Broad of England and Mohammed Shami of India are the two bowlers inside the top-20 who have dropped their positions, while James Anderson has retained his top position but his lead over Kagiso Rabada has been reduced to two points.

Broad is now ranked 13th after falling one place, while Shami is in 19th spot after sliding two places.

Stokes has compensated for his double failure with the bat by taking six wickets in the Test, including three of India's last four wickets. For this performance, he has been rewarded with a rise of four places, which has put him in 27th position.

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has gained 14 points following his four for 62 and three for 59, which means he now trails South Africa's fourth-ranked Vernon Philander by just one point.

Pacer Ishant Sharma has collected 19 points to move within 13 points of 25th-ranked team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

England's 20-year-old Sam Curran is another fascinating story from what was a nerve-wracking 1000th England men's Test. The left-handed all-rounder scored 24 and 63 with the bat, and claimed match figures of five for 92 with the ball, which not only earned him the player of the match award but significant gains in the latest rankings.

In the batting table, Curran has jumped from 152nd to 72nd, the bowling table has seen him rise 49 places to 62nd, while in the all-rounders' category, he now sits in 37th position after jumping 58 places.

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IANS