Virat Kohli’s good run takes him to career-best No. 4 in ICC Test rankings

Virat Kohli scored 248 runs in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. It has had an immediate impact on his ranking in the International Cricket Council Test rankings released on Tuesday.

For the first time in his brilliant career, Virat Kohli has broken into the top 10 among Test batsmen. He was already the world’s No. 1 ranked batsman in both ODIs and T20 internationals. Kohli is at No. 4 in the latest ICC Test batting rankings.

Virat Kohli scored 167 in the first innings and 81 in the second to emerge Man of the Match in Vizag. India won the Test by 246 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series.

It was fourth highest match aggregate for an Indian skipper in a Test match. The top two are both by Sunil Gavaskar against West Indies in the 1978-79 home series. Kohli made 256 in Adelaide a couple of years ago.

Kohli’s batting has showed remarkable maturity. “I don’t feel the need to hit ball in the air. I don’t need to try fancy things... spending time in Test is something I intend to do,” Kohli said on Monday.

Virat Kohli trails Joe Root

Kohli now trails second-ranked Joe Root of England. Another strong performance in the Mohali Test, which begins on Saturday, will mean the 28-year-old will edge closer in his quest to top the batting table.

Middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has gained one place to reach ninth rank after scoring 119 and one, while the England pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and all-rounder Ben Stokes have also made significant gains.

Bairstow has moved up four places to reach 12th position after scoring 53 and 34 not out, while Stokes has moved up five slots to 28th position after scoring 70 and six.