ICC Test Batting Rankings: Pant, Bairstow enter top 10
Middle-order batters Rishabh Pant (India) and Jonny Bairstow (England) have entered the top 10 of the latest ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings. The former moved to a career-best fifth spot after scoring 146 and 57 in the recently-concluded Edgbaston Test against India. Meanwhile, Bairstow rose to the 10th spot, having slammed twin-centuries in the same Test. Besides, Virat Kohli drops to 13th among batters.
Pant was on fire at Edgbaston!
Indian wicket-keeper batter Pant was on fire at Edgbaston. After slamming an audacious 146, he scored an 86-ball 57 to power the Indian innings. He became only the second Indian wicket-keeper to register a century and a fifty in the same Test. The left-handed batter emulated Farokh Engineer's feat, who smashed 121 and 66 against England in 1973 (Mumbai BS).
Bairstow has been on a roll!
The Player of the Match at Edgbaston, Bairstow, was the chief architect of England's win. He struck a superb 106 in the first innings, followed by an unbeaten 114 in the run-chase. The senior cricketer now has five successive scores of 50-plus in Tests, including four tons. Bairstow owns 1,218 runs at 55.36, including six centuries in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle.
A look at the ICC Test Player Rankings
Root continues to hold the top spot
Former England captain Joe Root continues to hold the top spot in the ICC Test Batting Rankings. He has now attained his highest rating points (923) after scoring a record-breaking 28th Test ton. As a result, Root has entered the elite list of top 20 highest-rated batters in the ICC Rankings history. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne follows Root with 879 rating points.
Leading run-scorer of the series
After shining in the NZ series, Root came out all guns blazing against India. He slammed his 28th Test ton at Edgbaston, now the most among active cricketers. Root was adjudged the Player of the Series, having scored 737 runs at 105.28.
What about Virat Kohli?
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli is still undergoing a rough patch in Test cricket. After recording scores of 11 and 20 against England at Edgbaston, the 33-year-old dropped three places to 13th in the ICC Batting Rankings. Kohli is still in search of his first Test ton since November 2019. He averages just 29.07 in Tests since the start of 2021.
WTC 2021-23 table: Where do India rank?
Speaking of the World Test Championship 2021-23, India have played 12 matches across four series, winning six, losing four, and drawing two. Their points percentage has taken a hit (53.47). Moreover, the Indian team was docked points for slow over-rate in the Edgbaston Test. India are on 75 points (point percentage of 52.08). Pakistan (52.38) are now seated third, going above India.
