Kohli vaults to career-best No.4 in ICC Test Rankings

Dubai, November 22: After helping India register a 246-run win over England in the second Test at Visakhapatnam, skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday vaulted 10 spots to a career-best fourth spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Rankings. Besides Kohli, whose scores of 167 and 81 fetched him the Man of the Match performance, middle order mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara also moved a spot up to the 9th position while pace spearhead Mohammad Shami gained five spots to reach a career high of No. 21 among the bowlers. Kohli, currently top-ranked in Twenty20 Internationals, has never moved above the 10th place in Tests. However, his sublime form in the longest version of the game has helped him move up further as he crossed the 800-point mark for the first time, becoming only the 11th India batsman to do so.The 28-year-old’s efforts -- that helped India gain a 1-0 lead in the five-match rubber -- has earned him 97 points and now trails New Zealand skipper Ken Williamson by 16 points and second-ranked Joe Root of England by 22 points. Australia skipper Steve Smith retained the top spot. Among other gainers, England pair of wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and all-rounder Ben Stokes have also made significant gains. Bairstow has moved up four places to reach 12th position after scoring 53 and 34 not out, while Stokes has moved up five slots to 28th position after scoring 70 and six. Meanwhile, among the bowlers, Shami’s consistency in giving India the early breakthrough helped him gain five places to reach a career-high 21st while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has moved up one position to sixth place. India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin continued to lead the bowlers in the list.For England, Stuart Broad (up one place) and Moeen Ali (up four places), have achieved fifth and 23rd positions, respectively. Kohli accused of ball tampering India skipper Virat Kohli was on Tuesday accused of ball tampering during the drawn first cricket Test against England at Rajkot by a British daily. British tabloid ‘The Daily Mail’ has produced inconclusive evidence to show that Kohli used to shine the ball with the residue of a sweet in his mouth. The newspaper has claimed that Kohli put his hands deep in his mouth, and then shined one side of the ball during the match which was played between November 9 to 13. “Footage has emerged of India captain Virat Kohli appearing to shine the ball using residue from a sweet during his country’s draw with England in the first Test,” the report in The Daily Mail read. “Television cameras caught Kohli, who finished on 49 not out on the final day in Rajkot, putting his right hand towards his mouth,” it added. “The 28-year-old can be seen rubbing his fingers in his mouth, inside of which is a sweet. He then appears to shine one side of the ball.” But the doubts raised by the English media seemed to backfire as Kohli’s actions were not cited by the umpire or the match referee after the match.