Virat Kohli becomes No.1 batsman in Test cricket

New Delhi, Aug 05: India captain Virat Kohli has displaced Steven Smith to claim the No. 1 ranking for Test batsmen, the ICC revealed on Sunday (August 5).

Kohli now becomes the seventh Indian batsman, and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011, to climb to the top of the rankings.

Kohli made a fighting 149 in India's 274 in the first innings of the just-concluded Edgbaston Test, taking his side closer to England's first innings total of 287. He followed it up with another gritty knock of 51 in a botched chase of 194.

His valiant contributions in India's 31-run defeat helped Kohli gain 31 points to end the 32-month reign of the now banned Australia captain steve smith

ALL-TIME BEST RATING POINTS – INDIAN BATSMEN IN TESTS

934 – Virat Kohli, v England, 04/08/2018

916 – Sunil Gavaskar, v England, 03/09/1979

898 – Sachin Tendulkar, v Zimbabwe, 25/02/2002

892 – Rahul Dravid, v Pakistan, 20/03/2005

888 – Cheteshwar Pujara, v Sri Lanka, 07/08/2017

Virat Kohli leapfrogs Steven Smith as Test cricket's new No. 1 batsman - he is first Indian to reach top spot since Sachin Tendulkar in 2011 https://t.co/zs2xYOeP8J pic.twitter.com/8W9v2X60VA

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 5, 2018

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