• KG, Kohli the Kings of 2018

    Proteas paceman Kagiso Rabada and India captain Virat Kohli ended 2018 as the top Test bowler and batter respectively in the ICC Test Player Rankings.

    Kohli dropped three points despite a first innings score of 82 in the third Test in Melbourne, but still enjoys a 34-point lead over Kane Williamson. Kohli, who attained a career-high 937 points during the year, which is the highest ever by an India batsman, scored 1322 runs in all. Kohli overtook Steven Smith in August and has now held the top position for 135 days.

    Rabada, who split the top ranking with England’s seasoned fast bowler James Anderson during the year, is just six points ahead of his adversary. Rabada, who became the youngest to take top position among bowlers during the year and held the spot for 178 days during the year, grabbed six wickets in the opening match at Centurion. South Africa won that match by six wickets for Rabada to finish with 52 wickets in 10 Tests in 2018.

    Kohli’s compatriot Cheteshwar Pujara has maintained the fourth position after a first-innings century in Melbourne, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant has gained 10 slots to reach a career-best 38th position, while debutant opener Mayank Agarwal has entered the batsmen’s list at an impressive 67th place after scores of 76 and 42 helped his side win by 137 runs for a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

    READ ALSO: No Rabada in Bhogle’s Test XI

    Jasprit Bumrah has moved from 28th to 12th after his match haul of nine for 86, the best ever by an India seam bowler in Australia. He is now the highest-ranked India fast bowler in the format, with Mohammed Shami next in 23rd position.

    For Australia, Pat Cummins has been the pick, gaining five slots to reach a career-best third position after finishing with nine wickets in the match. He has also gained 13 slots to reach 91st place among batsmen, with some useful runs down the order. Travis Head (up seven places to 56th) has also benefited in the latest rankings update.

    New Zealand fast bowlers have a lot to cheer about following their record 423-run win over Sri Lanka in Christchurch. Trent Boult’s nine wickets in the match have helped him gain seven slots to reach seventh position, while Tim Southee (up two places to ninth) and Neil Wagner (up one place to 15th) have also moved up.

    Century-makers at Christchurch, Henry Nicholls (up two places to seventh) and Tom Latham (up eight places to 14th), and Jeet Raval (up two places to 35th) have also gained in the latest rankings update.

    READ ALSO: NZ overtake SA in Test rankings

    For South Africa, former captain Hashim Amla (up three places to 11th place) and Temba Bavuma (up four places to 31st) have gained among batsmen, while fast bowler Duanne Olivier has gained 17 places to reach 36th position after his player of the match effort of 11 wickets.

    Pakistan’s Babar Azam has gained nine slots to reach 27th position after innings of 71 and six, while left-arm fast bowlers Mohammad Amir (up two places to 34th) and Shaheen Afridi (up 38 places to 73rd) have advanced after taking four and five wickets in Centurion.

    Meanwhile, New Zealand have leapfrogged South Africa to take third place in the ICC Test Team Rankings after securing the series 1-0 against Sri Lanka. Had they beaten Sri Lanka 2-0 in the series then the Kiwis would have moved up into the second spot on the rankings.

    Rank Team Points
    1 India 116
    2 England 108
    3 New Zealand 107
    4 South Africa 106
    5 Australia 102
    6 Pakistan 92
    7 Sri Lanka 91
    8 West Indies 70
    9 Bangladesh 69
    10 Zimbabwe 13
    11 Afghanistan 00
    12 Ireland 00

    (Developed by David Kendix)

    MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 31 December, following the conclusion of the Centurion, Christchurch and Melbourne Tests):

    BATSMEN (top 20)

    Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Average Highest Rating
    1 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 931 54.01 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018
    2 ( – ) Kane Williamson NZ 897 51.44 915 v SL at Wellington 2018
    3 ( – ) Steve Smith Aus 883 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018
    4 ( – ) C. Pujara Ind 834 49.83 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
    5 ( – ) Joe Root Eng 807 50.44 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
    6 ( – ) David Warner Aus 780 48.20 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
    7 (+2) Henry Nicholls NZ 763*! 43.54 763 v SL at Christchurch 2018
    8 ( – ) Dean Elgar SA 728 40.92 784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
    9 (-2) D. Karunaratne SL 715 37.08 754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018
    10 (-1) Azhar Ali Pak 697 44.45 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
    11= (+3) Hashim Amla SA 689 47.35 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
    (+1) Usman Khawaja Aus 689 42.29 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017
    13 (+3) Angelo Mathews SL 687 44.79 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
    14 (+8) Tom Latham NZ 676! 41.59 676 v SL at Christchurch 2018
    15 (-2) D. Chandimal SL 675 43.53 755 v Win at St Lucia 2018
    16 (+2) Kusal Mendis SL 671 37.90 693 v Win at St Lucia 2018
    17 (-6) Aiden Markram SA 654* 43.83 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
    18= (+2) Jonny Bairstow Eng 653 37.71 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
    (-3) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 653 40.82 825 v NZ at Indore 2016
    20 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 646 45.93 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013

     

    BOWLERS (top 20)

    Rank

    (+/-)

    Player

    Team

    Points

    Average

    Highest Rating

    1

    ( – )

    Kagiso Rabada

    SA

    880

    21.56

    902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018

    2

    ( – )

    James Anderson

    Eng

    874

    26.98

    903 v Ind at Lord’s 2018

    3

    (+5)

    Pat Cummins

    Aus

    836*!

    23.25

    836 v Ind at Melbourne 2018

    4

    (-1)

    Vernon Philander

    SA

    817

    21.54

    912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

    5

    (-1)

    M. Abbas

    Pak

    813*

    16.62

    838 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2018

    6

    (-1)

    Ravindra Jadeja

    Ind

    796

    23.55

    899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

    7

    (+7)

    Trent Boult

    NZ

    771

    27.90

    825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015

    8

    (-2)

    R. Ashwin

    Ind

    770

    25.43

    904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

    9

    (+2)

    Tim Southee

    NZ

    767

    29.93

    799 v Win at Jamaica 2014

    10

    (+2)

    Jason Holder

    Win

    751*

    28.50

    766 v Ind at Hyderabad 2018

    11

    (-2)

    Josh Hazlewood

    Aus

    748

    26.83

    863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

    12

    (-2)

    Yasir Shah

    Pak

    745

    28.33

    878 v Eng at Lord’s 2016

    13

    ( – )

    Shannon Gabriel

    Win

    742

    29.73

    757 v Ban at Jamaica 2018

    14

    (-7)

    Nathan Lyon

    Aus

    727

    31.95

    774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017

    15

    (+1)

    Neil Wagner

    NZ

    721

    28.88

    785 v Win at Wellington 2017

    16

    (+12)

    Jasprit Bumrah

    Ind

    708*!

    21.02

    708 v Aus at Melbourne 2018

    17

    ( – )

    Mehidy Hasan

    Ban

    696*!

    29.78

    696 v Win at Dhaka 2018

    18

    (-3)

    Mitchell Starc

    Aus

    695

    28.43

    805 v SA at Durban 2018

    19

    (-1)

    Stuart Broad

    Eng

    694

    29.04

    880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

    20

    ( – )

    Shakib Al Hasan

    Ban

    675

    31.27

    705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

     

    ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)

    Rank

    (+/-)

    Player

    Team

    Points

    Highest Rating

    1

    ( – )

    Shakib Al Hasan

    Ban

    415

    489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

    2

    (+2)

    Jason Holder

    Win

    365/*

    381 v Ind at Hyderabad 2018

    3

    (-1)

    Ravindra Jadeja

    Ind

    364

    438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017

    4

    (-1)

    Vernon Philander

    SA

    362

    378 v SL at Galle 2018

    5

    ( – )

    Ben Stokes

    Eng

    342

    396 v Win at Lord’s 2017

     

    *indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
    !indicates career-highest rating

    Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images

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