INDIA skipper’s match-winning effort in second Test against England elevates him to a new personal best in ICC player rankings
India captain Virat Kohli has vaulted to a career-high fourth on the ICC Test batting rankings after producing a player-of-the-match performance in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
Kohli is currently the world’s top-ranked Twenty20 international batsman and has also held the top position for one-day internationals, but has never previously moved above 10th spot on the Test rankings.

But after sublime knocks of 167 and 81 against England, which helped India win by 246 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, Kohli moved up 10 spots in the rankings and crossed the 800-point barrier for the first time, becoming only the 11th India batsman to do so.
The 28-year-old’s performances helped him gain 28 points and close the gap on England’s second-ranked batsman Joe Root, who trails behind the world’s best batsman, Australia skipper Steve Smith.
Another strong performance in the Mohali Test, which begins on Saturday, would mean Kohli could edge closer toward his quest of topping the batting table.
Kohli boasts 14 Test centuries and has an average of 48.03 from 50 matches.
Middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has moved up one place to ninth after scoring 119 and one in the second Test.

The England pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and all-rounder Ben Stokes also made significant gains, with Bairstow moving up four places to reach 12th after scoring 53 and 34 not out, while Stokes moved up five slots to 28th after knocks of 70 and six.
New Zealand’s eight-wicket win against Pakistan in a low-scoring first Test in Christchurch did not result in much positive movement for batsmen.
New Zealand’s BJ Watling gained two places to take 36th spot while debutant opener Jeet Raval entered the rankings in 60th position after knocks of 55 and 36 not out.

Black Caps debutant pace bowler Colin de Grandhomme, who was named player-of-the-match in his first Test after grabbing seven wickets in Christchurch, entered in 61st position on the Test bowling rankings.
India fast bowler Mohammad Shami also achieved a career-high ranking, moving up five places to 21st spot, while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja moved up one position to sixth place.
England paceman Stuart Broad (up one place) and Moeen Ali (up four places) occupy fifth and 23rd place, respectively.