Kohli moves ahead of Lara, closes gap on Gavaskar

ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 Virat Kohli has moved ahead of ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Brian Lara in the all-time list of batsmen with highest-ever ranking points in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were updated following the conclusion of the Johannesburg Test.

Second-ranked Kohli had started the third and final Test on 900 points and earned 12 points following contributions of 54 and 41 in his side’s 63 runs victory. This means he is now on 912 points and in 26th position on the 31-batsman list, which is headed by Don Bradman (961 points).

Number-one ranked Steve Smith of Australia is second on the all-time list with 947 points.

Kohli, while moving from 31st to 26th position, has leapfrogged Lara (911), Kevin Pietersen (909), Hashim Amla (907), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (901) and Michael Clarke (900).

Kohli now has his compatriot and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar firmly within his sights, who had achieved 916 points following The Oval Test against England in 1979. Kohli will now aim to gain five points and move ahead of Gavaskar, either in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June, or during the five-Test series against England in August and September.

Batsmen to improve their rankings after the Johannesburg Test include Amla in seventh (up by one place), Dean Elgar in 12th (up by two places), Ajinkya Rahane in 18th (up by five places), while batsmen to head in the wrong direction are Faf du Plessis in 14th (down by two places), Lokesh Rahul in 20th (down by two places), Quinton de Kock in 27th (down by seven places) and Aiden Markram in 48th (down by 10 places).

There is no change in the top five of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as James Anderson comfortably leads Kagiso Rabada, Ravindra Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The only bowlers inside the top 20 to improve their rankings include Morne Morkel, who has moved up two places to ninth, and Mohammed Shami, who has lifted to a career-best 15th position after earning two places.

India’s trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are also on the charge.

Kumar has entered the top 20 in 20th position for the first time in his career after lifting two places, Sharma is now in 26th spot after rising three places and Bumrah is on a career-high 46th position after vaulting 36 places.

Kumar and Shami have also improved their rankings in the all-rounders’ list, which is headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. Kumar has risen eight places to join Rabada in 12th position and Shami has moved from 27th to 17th.

50-over champions lose ground in ODI team rankings

World champions Australia have dropped two places to fifth, while ICC Champions Trophy winners Pakistan have conceded three points in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings following an action-packed month of white ball cricket, which saw 17 ODIs being played between seven sides in Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand.

While the 50-over tournament champions have slipped in the team rankings table, England and New Zealand have been rewarded for their impressive performances against Australia and Pakistan, respectively. England have moved up to third after gaining two points (116) and New Zealand have risen to fourth after earning three points (115).

Following a 4-1 defeat, Australia are now fifth on 112 points, while Pakistan, after being swept aside 5-0 by New Zealand, are sixth on 96 points. The top five sides are still separated by just nine points.

In Bangladesh, the hosts went head to head with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in a tri-series, which culminated on 27 January with Sri Lanka beating Bangladesh in the final by 79 runs. From this series, all the three sides retained their pre-series rankings, but Bangladesh conceded two points to slip to 90 and Zimbabwe earned a point to move to 53. Sri Lanka stayed on 84 points.

The excitement of ODI cricket will continue in February, when South Africa will put its number-one ranking on the line against second-ranked India in a six-match series, which starts in Durban on 1 February.

To retain the top spot, South Africa will have to draw the series, while India can top the ODI table if they win the series by 4-2 or better. However, India will slip behind England by a fraction of a point if South Africa win the series by 5-1 or better.

Also in action will be 11th-ranked Afghanistan and 10th-ranked Zimbabwe in Sharjah when the two sides will feature in a five-ODI series from 9-19 February.

This series will be their final preparation before the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which begins in Bulawayo and Harare on 4 March. The top two sides from this 10-team tournament will progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which will be staged in England and Wales from 30 May to 15 July.