Steve Smith attains No.2 spot in ICC Test ranking

Australian star-batsman Steve Smith has moved to the No. 2 position in the ICC Test ranking list for batsmen. This comes on the back of a terrific start to the Ashes series where Smith has scored an incredible 378 runs in the first two matches.

Smith has pipped Kane Williamson to the second spot with the Kiwi captain having a quiet first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle. The 30-year-old is only nine rating points away from displacing Virat Kohli as the numero uno Test batsman.

Smith's team-mate Patrick Cummins continues to hold the No. 1 spot in the bowling rankings chart while also becoming the 5th best all-rounder in the format.

There was a fair bit of movement for the opposition camp too as Joe Root slid down to the 9th spot in the batting charts. On the other hand, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, and Rory Burns reached the 26th, 30th and 64th spot respectively after good performances in the two recent Ashes Test matches.

Debutant Jofra Archer's fiery introduction to Test cricket was also rewarded as he entered the ICC Test rankings fray at the 83rd position. Left-arm spinner jumped eight spots to reach the 40th spot after picking up four wickets in the second Test.

Elsewhere, Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne's masterful century against New Zealand helped him to climb four spots to the 8th position. This is the first time that Karunaratne has entered the Top 10 in his career.

Akila Dananjaya's fantastic return to Test cricket has also helped him to reach the 46th spot in the bowling charts. Similarly, Kiwi left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel's five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Galle Test match saw him rise to the 61st spot.

Such constant movements in the ranking charts are set to continue as a lot of teams are playing Test cricket at the moment. Team India's first Test against the West Indies is also set to begin on 22nd August in Antigua.

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