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Star Australian batsman Steve Smith has regained the No.1 position in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen by displacing Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli has slipped down the ladder after being dismissed for a golden duck in the second Test match against West Indies at Jamaica while he has also not been able to score a hundred in any of the three Tests that he has played this year.
This played into Steve Smith's hands as his stunning start to the Ashes series helped him regain the top spot after a gap of 13 months. Even after missing the third Ashes Test due to concussion, Smith is still the leading run-scorer with 378 runs from two Tests.
It was only in August 2018 that Steve Smith was displaced by Virat Kohli as the numero uno Test batsman when the former was serving his 12-month ban for the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket. Smith had held that spot ever since December 2015.
The 30-year-old Smith will have a chance to extend his one-point lead during the remaining two Ashes Tests while Kohli can only attempt to regain the No.1 spot when the three-Test match series against South Africa starts on October 2.
Apart from these stars, there was also movement elsewhere as both India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari moved upwards in the batting charts after their impressive performances against West Indies in the recently concluded two-match series.
Rahane's two half-centuries and century in the Caribbean helped him to return to the Top 10 by holding the No.7 spot while Vihari rose forty spots to become the 30th ranked batsman in Test cricket. The 25-year-old Vihari came up with crucial knocks at pivotal points during the two Tests as he amassed 289 runs and this also ensured that he ended up as the leading run-scorer in the series.
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