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Virat Kohli overtakes Steve Smith to become the number one batsman in ICC Test Rankings

Indian skipper Virat Kohli is now the number batsman in the world, according to the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen announced on Sunday. Kohli has overtaken Australian cricketer Steve Smith to reach the coveted spot. The Indian skipper is the first Indian since Sachin Tendulkar to get to the milestone.

KOHLI IS NO.1@imVkohli has overtaken Steve Smith to become the new No.1 batsman in @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Rankings.

He is the first Indian since @sachin_rt to get there.

READ __https://t.co/Hw7OCimIKw pic.twitter.com/s8h4fNmJYK

– ICC (@ICC) August 5, 2018

Kohli scored 149 and 51 in India’s last Test against England, taking him up by 31 points which helped him end Smith’s 32-month reign as the top-ranked batsman. This is the first time that Kohli has achieved the feat in his 67-Test career.

Kohli now leads Smith by five points but will have to maintain the form in the remaining four Tests to finish the series as the world’s highest-ranked batsman. Smith had held the top spot since December 2015. Kohli had entered the Edgbaston Test on 903 points, 13 points behind Gavaskar, but is now ahead of the ICC Cricket Hall of Famer by 18 points.

Apart from Kohli and Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Dilip Vengsarkar are the other Indians to have achieved number-one rankings during their careers.

Source: Zee News