Smith extends lead as No. 1 Test batsman, Pujara climbs to No. 2

Steven Smith thumps the Australia badge on his shirt after bringing up his century © Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

Australia captain Steven Smith‘s unbeaten 141 in the Brisbane Test earned him five points and helped consolidate his position at the top of the ICC rankings for Test batsmen. The other big movement on the batting charts was India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara‘s rise to No. 2: he reclaimed the second spot after 143 against Sri Lanka in the Nagpur Test, moving above England captain Joe Root and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

Smith’s 21st Test century, a crucial effort in Australia’s ten-wicket win, took his points tally to 941, and put him at par with former England captain Peter May at No. 5 on the list of highest points tally in batting history, behind Sir Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs (942) and Ricky Ponting (942). A solid performance in the upcoming Adelaide Test, which starts from December 2, could boost Smith’s chances of climbing to second on this list.

As for Pujara, this is the third time he has claimed the second rank, having first reached the position after the Ranchi Test against Australia in March, and then again in August, after scoring 133 against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Pujara is currently 11 points ahead of his captain Virat Kohli, who remained at the fifth place despite adding 60 points to his tally, after his fifth Test double-hundred against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. Kohli has accumulated 877 points.

In the bowlers’ rankings, Ravindra Jadeja re-occupied the No. 2 spot, with Kagiso Rabada dropping to third, while R Ashwin consolidated his fourth position with a match haul of 8 for 130, which helped him become the fastest bowler to 300 Test wickets. Australia’s Mitchell Starc made his way back into the top 10, gaining three places to the tenth position after returning match figures of 6 for 128 against England.

ICC rankings: Top ten Test batsmen 1. Steven Smith (941), 2 Cheteshwar Pujara (888), 3 Joe Root (881), 4 Kane Williamson (880), 5 Virat Kohli (877), 6 David Warner (826), 7 Hashim Amla (795), 8 Azhar Ali (755), 9 KL Rahul (735), 10 Dean Elgar (732)
Top ten Test bowlers – 1 James Anderson (891), 2 Ravindra Jadeja (880), 3 Kagiso Rabada (876), 4 R Ashwin (849), 5 Rangana Herath (807), 6 Josh Hazlewood (798), 7 Nathan Lyon (753), 8 Dale Steyn (748), 9 Neil Wagner (745), 10 Mitchell Starc (744)

Click here to see the comprehensive list of player rankings. And here to see the team rankings.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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