ICC Test Rankings: Joe Root Moves To 2nd Spot, Virat Kohli Firm On 5th Position.

India captain Virat Kohli continues to hold on to his fifth spot in the standings, according to the latest ICC men’s Test Player Rankings released on Tuesday. While Rohit Sharma remained firm in the sixth spot, England skipper Joe Root climbed two spots to second in the rankings. Root has been in phenomenal form this season, having already scored 5 centuries. In the second Test against India at Lord’s, he scored an unbeaten 180. He is now in striking distance from the leader of the pack, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.

Root, a formerly top-ranked batter in the format, is on 893 rating points, only eight less than Kiwi skipper Williamson. The England captain had started the series in fifth place and overtook Kohli after the first match against India. Player of the Match KL Rahul is another batter to gain after helping India to a 151-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series.

The 29-year-old opener, whose career-best is the eighth position he attained in November 2017, has gained 19 slots to reach 37th place with a knock of 129 in the first innings. The bowlers to gain from the Lord’s Test include James Anderson, who has gained one spot and is sixth after a five-wicket haul in the first innings while England pacer Mark Wood and India’s Mohammad Siraj have made significant gains to reach 37th and 38th positions, respectively.

Wood has gained five slots with five wickets in the match while Siraj’s four wickets in each innings see him gain 18 places The latest weekly update, which includes performances in the first Test in Kingston, sees Pakistan captain Babar Azam move up two slots to eighth position among batters after scores of 30 and 55 while Faheem Ashraf and Fawad Alam have gained four slots each to reach 48th and 55th positions, respectively.

Must Read: ICC Men’s Cricket T20 World Cup 2021: India to go against Pakistan in the first match on October 24.

England captain stood to 2nd spot in ICC Ranking.

India skipper Virat Kohli and opening batsman Rohit Sharma remained firm at their respective fifth and sixth spots, but England captain Joe Root jumped two spots to claim the second position in the ICC men’s batting Test Rankings. Root’s valiant 180 not out in the first innings of the Lord’s Test has taken him to within striking distance of top-ranked batter Kane Williamson in the Test rankings. The England captain, who started the series against India at fifth place and overtook Kohli after the first match, has risen another two spots to seal the second position after the Lord’s Test.

KL Rahul, who was adjudged player of the match in the Lord’s Test, moved up 19 places in the rankings after his 129 runs in the first innings. The 29-year-old is now in the 37th spot. Mohammed Siraj and Mark Wood also jumped up the ladder with the impressive show with the ball. Siraj picked up eight wickets while Wood got five in the second Test. Siraj is in 38th place while Wood is in 37th.

For the West Indies, who won by one wicket against Pakistan, Jermaine Blackwood has gained nine slots to reach 35th position after getting 22 and 55. All-rounder Jason Holder is up to five places to 43rd and captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who missed the first-innings century by three runs, has advanced 18 places to 45th.

Holder has also moved into the top 10 for bowlers, his four wickets in the match lifting him two places to ninth position. Fast bowler Jayden Seales has soared 39 places to 58th after the eight-wicket match haul that earned him the Player of the Match award while Kemar Roach is another gainer, moving up two places to 11th. For Pakistan, left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has gained four slots to reach 18th position after taking four wickets in each innings and Faheem is up to four places to 71st.