Virat Kohli Grabs 2nd Spot On ICC Test Rankings After Great Series Against Sri Lanka

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli's graph as a batsman is has hit top level in the last couple of years and it all culminated with a superb outing against Sri Lanka in the three-Test series that concluded on Wednesday. India won the series 1-0 and Kohli ended up with a massive 610 runs in the series at an average of 152.50. According to the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, Kohli has moved up three places to grab second position among batsmen after registering his career-best score in the third Test against Sri Lanka.

"Kohli's first-innings knock of 243 was followed with 50 as he finished with 610 runs in the series, which India won 1-0. Kohli, who slammed back-to-back double-centuries and recorded three-figure scores in three consecutive matches, started the series in sixth position but has leapfrogged David Warner, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kane Williamson and Joe Root after the stupendous run which saw him average 152.50," an ICC release said.

According to the release, 45 points separate him from Australia captain Steve Smith but Kohli would be eyeing the chance of reaching the zenith in all three formats since he is the current No. 1 in ODIs and T20Is. Smith though has been in a different league and last week reached 941 points, the joint fifth-highest in terms of the highest points tally in batting history in Tests. Smith is now on 938 points while Kohli is on 893 points.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is the only batsman to have been at the top in all three formats at the same time - in December-January 2005-06, while his compatriot Matthew Hayden is the other batsman to have topped all three formats.

In the latest rankings, which also take into account the second Test between Australia and England in Adelaide which the home side won by 120 runs, and the first Test in Wellington in which New Zealand defeated the Windies by an innings and 67 runs, opener Murali Vijay (up three places to 25th) and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma (up six places to 40th) are the other India batsmen to move up.

In the ICC Test team rankings, India have lost one point but remain well ahead of South Africa at the top of the rankings, while Sri Lanka remains on its pre-series tally of 94 points in sixth place.