Australian batsman Steve Smith pipped New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson to second spot with only nine points separating him and the top-ranked Virat Kohli in the latest list for ICC Test list released on Monday. The Indian captain, with 922 points, is on top of the list while Smith, after his twin Ashes hundreds in Birmingham and 92 at Lord’s, is on 913 points. The other Indian in the top-10 is Cheteshwar Pujara, who stayed put at his fourth position. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne made rapid strides, entering the top-10 at eighth with a jump of four ranking places. South Africa’s Aiden Markram also improved upon his ranking to be positioned sixth while England captain Joe Root paid for his slight slump in form to be at ninth. In the bowlers’ list, Pat Cummins remained firmly entrenched on top of the table while Ravindra Jadeja improved from sixth place to fifth. His spin bowling partner Ravichandran Ashwin remained 10th. Jadeja also remained third in the all-rounder’s list, led by West Indies’ Jason Holder, with Shakib Al Hasan placed second. Meanwhile, India could lose their pole position in the ICC Test Team rankings, as even a 1-0 defeat by the West Indies in their upcoming series will see them slip to 108 points. That margin will be enough for the West Indies to overtake Pakistan to seventh position at 88 points. India are on top of team table with 113 points followed by New Zealand (111 points) and South Africa (108 points).
