Virat Kohli's historic achievement, Ganguly's message to Indian cricketers and more -  Cricket News Today, August 5, 2018

There has been a lot going on in the world of cricket over the past 24 hours. Indian skipper Virat Kohli created history by becoming the Indian batsman with the highest rating points in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen.

He also became the world number one Test batsman after overtaking Australian captain Steve Smith, who is going through a year-long ban. Kohli has been the centre of attention after his 149 and 51 in the first Test against England as he put an end to his nightmares in the European country.

Adding to this, former skipper Sourav Ganguly has a message for the under-performing Indian players and advice for Virat Kohli going into the second Test.

Karnataka batsman Mayank Agarwal scored a double century in India A's ongoing first unofficial Test against South Africa in Bengaluru. After bundling out the visitors for just 246, India A ended day 2 at 411/2 in just 87 overs with a lead of 165, thanks to Mayank's unbeaten 220 and Prithvi Shaw's 136.

In Tamil Nadu Premier League, Ruby Trichy Warriors were knocked out of the tournament in spite of winning their last match because of their low NRR. The last two playoff spots will be a battle between Lyca Kovai Kings, iDream Karaikudi Kaalai and Jones Tuti Patriots and the last two teams are playing in the last league match of the tournament.

Let us take a look at the things which made news in the cricket world today (05 August 2018).

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Virat Kohli moves to number 1 in ICC Test rankings

After scoring 149 and 51 in vain, Indian skipper Virat Kohli has overtaken the banned Australian batsman Steve Smith to the top of the ICC Test rankings for batsmen. This is the first time Kohli has reached the summit of ICC batsmen's rankings for Tests and he reached there in style as he achieved the highest rating points by an Indian batsman in Test cricket, 934.

With 200 runs in the Test, the Indian skipper gained 31 rating points and jumped from the second position to the top with a five-point lead over Smith's tally.

With his latest feat, Kohli has now achieved the best rating ever by an Indian batsman in all three formats of the game with the rating of 911 he currently holds in ODIs and a rating of 897 he achieved in T20Is back in 2014.

Read more about this news here.

No Ben Stokes in England squad for the second Test

Stokes will be having his hearing on Monday

The England selectors have announced the 13-member squad to take on India in the second Test at the historic Lord's Cricket Ground in London starting August 9.

As expected, all-rounder Ben Stokes has not been included in the side as his hearing for an alleged affray begins on Monday. He has been replaced by Worcestershire all-rounder Chris Woakes, who is coming back into the England side from an injury.

The selectors have also named uncapped 20-year-old batsman from Surrey, Ollie Pope in the squad to take on the world number 1 Test side. He will be replacing Dawid Malan, who was dropped by the selectors after a string of poor performances.

England squad for the second Test: Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes.

Read more about this news here.

Bangladesh level the T20I series 1-1

Shakib was on fire for Bangladesh

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan starred with both bat and ball and helped his team beat West Indies by 12 runs in the second T20I at Central Broward Stadium in Florida. Tamim Iqbal's 74 and Shakib's 60 helped their team reach 171/5 in 20 overs, which was a par total on a ground which assisted the batsmen.

Mustafizur Rahman had other ideas as his three wickets, along with Shakib's two wickets helped their team register the win after the hosts failed to score the 15 runs they needed off the last over.

With this, the series is levelled at 1-1 with the decider scheduled to take place at the same venue later today (August 6 in India).

Sourav Ganguly's message to Indian cricketers

Ganguly has posted a message for the Indian cricketers on Instagram

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has a word of advice for Virat Kohli after India's loss to England in the first Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston.

The God of offside posted a message on Instagram which praised the current Indian skipper, sharing a piece of his mind before urging the likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay to step up.

Kohli scored 149 and 51 in the first Test while none of the other batsmen barring Hardik Pandya managed to score a combined total of 50 runs in the match which resulted in India's loss.

Read more about this news here.

South Africa seal the ODI series against Sri Lanka

Reeza Hendricks scored a century on debut

Thanks to a century on debut from Reeza Hendricks, along with a quick-fire cameo from JP Duminy towards the end of the innings and Andile Phehlukwayo's 3/74, South Africa sealed the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead.

After winning the first two matches with ease, they got the better of the hosts by 78 runs in the third match and pocketed the series. Hendricks hit 102 off 89 balls before Duminy's 70-ball 92 and a 50 from David Miller helped South Africa reach 363/7.

Chasing a mammoth total, Sri Lanka lost three early wickets and they were never in the game since then. Sri Lanka managed to score just 285, thanks to Dhananjaya de Silva's 84 before they were dismissed by the Protea bowlers.