Steven Smith back as No. 1 Test batsman
Virat Kohli's match aggregate of 21 runs in the Wellington Test against New Zealand, which went the way of the home team by 10 wickets has allowed Smith to reclaim the top spot in the Test rankings for batsmen, the Australian getting to No. 1 for the eighth time in his career.
The top spot has changed hands between Smith and Kohli for the longest time, with only Kane Williamson occupying the position for a brief eight-day period in December 2015, and the New Zealand captain has returned to No. 3 on the table by jumping past Marnus Labuschagne after scoring 89 in his only innings at Basin Reserve.
Among the Indian batsmen who were part of the action in Wellington, Ajinkya Rahane's 46 and 29 have taken him up by a spot to No. 8 and Mayank Agarwal has gone up to No. 10 following scores of 34 and 58, but Cheteshwar Pujara has slipped two spots to ninth after identical scores of 11 in the two innings. From the New Zealand side, Ross Taylor, who was playing his 100th Test, has gone up three spots to No. 13 after scoring 44 the only time he got to bat.
The top spot has changed hands between Smith and Kohli for the longest time, with only Kane Williamson occupying the position for a brief eight-day period in December 2015, and the New Zealand captain has returned to No. 3 on the table by jumping past Marnus Labuschagne after scoring 89 in his only innings at Basin Reserve.
Among the Indian batsmen who were part of the action in Wellington, Ajinkya Rahane's 46 and 29 have taken him up by a spot to No. 8 and Mayank Agarwal has gone up to No. 10 following scores of 34 and 58, but Cheteshwar Pujara has slipped two spots to ninth after identical scores of 11 in the two innings. From the New Zealand side, Ross Taylor, who was playing his 100th Test, has gone up three spots to No. 13 after scoring 44 the only time he got to bat.
