Marnus Labuschagne replaces Virat Kohli in top three as Joe Root returns to top five in latest Test rankings


Marnus Labuschagne replaces Virat Kohli in top three as Joe Root returns to top five in latest Test rankings

Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Root

Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Root
Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Root

Emerging Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne displaced Indian captain Virat Kohli to slid into the top three. In the latest Test batsmen’s rankings, Labuschagne gained 12 points following his first century at the Gabba. On the other hand, Kohli who missed the Border Gavaskar series for the birth of his first child slipped one more place to finish fourth. Labuschagne continued his great run in red-ball cricket scoring over 400 runs in the series.

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Meanwhile, Cheteswar Pujara gained a place after a valiant knock at the Gabba. Pujara copped 11 body-blows as he held the fort on the fifth day to set up India’s series win. hile he couldn’t replicate his past heroics, he made sure he wore out the Aussie bowlers with his resilience. In a bid to do so, the Saurashtra batsman played over 1000 balls this series and broke his personal record of slowest fifty twice during the Test series.

Also Read | Sunil Gavaskar lauds Cheteshwar Pujara’s valiant effort at Gabba

Joe Root gains six places following double ton

Joe Root celebrates double century at Galle

England captain Joe Root has returned to top 10 in the Test rankings after a brilliant innings at Galle. Root smashed the fourth double century of his Test career as he led his side to a thumping victory. Following the stupendous outing in the subcontinent, Root gained six places as he stormed straight into the top five. In the process, he knocked off Pakistan skipper Babar Azam from the upper half of the list.

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The top two places remained unchanged as Kane Williamson and Steve Smith continue their game of cat and mouse for the top spot. Amongst other names, India’s stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and Ben Stokes dropped two places while Henry Nicholls finished at the 10th spot with 747 points to his name.

Also Read | Cricket Australia pens a thanksgiving letter to BCCI