ICC Rankings: Kohli extends lead at the top; Lyon, Hazlewood move into top 10

XtraTime Web Desk: India skipper Virat Kohli extended his lead at the top of the ICC Test rankings after he reached his 25th Test ton in the second Test against Australia at Perth. Kohli, who has Kane Williamson breathing down his neck at the top spot gained 14 points to reach 934 points after a scintillating 123 in the first innings at Perth. With that, he increased his lead over Williamson from seven to 19 points. The New Zealand captain too reached a personal-best of 915 points after his 91 against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Wellington which ended in a draw.

On the other hand Australia’s Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood have moved up to No.7 and No.9 respectively in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings after inspiring their side to an impressive victory over India in the Perth Test.

Lyon, the 31-year-old right-arm spinner, has been rewarded for his match-winning haul of 8/106 in Australia’s convincing 146-run series-levelling win, climbing seven spots, while Hazlewood’s figures of 2/66 and 2/24 moved him up two places in the latest rankings, which were released on Thursday, 20 December.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged five wickets in the second Test against Australia, yet again made a significant move, climbing five places to No.28.

His teammates, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma too climbed up the ladder. Shami, who remained wicket-less in the first innings and returned with 6/56 in the second, moved up by two slots to No.21, while Ishant’s five wickets have helped him overtake England spinner Moeen Ali to take 26th place among bowlers.

The MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings for All-Rounders too saw players from both the sides moving up the ranks with Lyon, who was also the Player of the Match, moving up four places to No. 15, Hazlewood up by four slots to No.25 and Shami with a leap of five places to No.35. Bumrah entered the top-100 charts after moving up six slots and now sits at No.99.

India’s Hanuma Vihari made significant moves in all the three rankings charts. He climbed up to No.65 in the all-rounders’ list, and now ranks No.84 (up by 15 places) and 110 (up by 12 places) in the bowling and batting charts respectively.