The mysteries of the ICC points system has seen Kagiso Rabada slip off the No 1 position in the ICC Test bowling rankings.
His disappointing return of 1-74 and 3-47 in the second Test against India cost him 16 points, which meant that James Anderson returns to the summit despite not having played a Test since the fifth Ashes match from 4-8 January.
South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi has made an impressive entry in the player rankings in 61st position, after his superb debut. Ngidi took 1-51 and 6-39 to help South Africa to a 135-run victory, which has given them an impregnable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Vernon Philander were the other bowlers inside the top 10 to slip, going down one position each. Ashwin is now fifth, while Philander is seventh.
ICC Cricketer of the Year Virat Kohli has become only the second India batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to reach the 900-point mark in the latest ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
Gavaskar, an ICC Cricket Hall of Famer, had achieved the milestone after his 50th Test when he scored 13 and 221 at The Oval in 1979 to jump from 887 points to 916 points, which remained his career-best. Kohli, who recorded his 21st century at Centurion, achieved the rare feat in his 65th Test after vaulting from 880 points to 900 points.
Kohli has leapfrogged Joe Root of England into second position, trailing Australia captain Steve Smith by 47 points. He leads Root by 19 points, who, in turn, leads Kane Williamson by 26 points.
Other batsmen inside the top 20 to head in the right direction are South Africa’s trio of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar, while Quinton de Kock, who has struggled against India, fell five places to 20th.
Amla, who scored 82 in the first innings, has moved up two places to eighth, while du Plessis has been rewarded for his contributions of 63 and 48 with a rise of two places that has given him a career-high ranking of 12th. Elgar has also gained two places and is now ranked 14th following scores of 31 and 61.
Outside the top 20, South Africa opener Aiden Markram has made an impressive gain after lifting 10 places to share 38th position with Roston Chase of the Windies. In the last three Tests, Markram, who captained South Africa to the 2014 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup title in the UAE, has earned 20 places.
There is no change in the top five all-rounders and Shakib Al Hasan continues to lead the field by a distance. Ravindra Jadeja is second, followed by Ashwin, Ben Stokes and Philander.
Photo: Philip Brown/Getty Images
