Kohli becomes second Indian to 900 Test-ranking points

On the day he was named cricketer and captain of the year at the ICC awards, Virat Kohli became the second India batsman, after Sunil Gavaskar, to scale 900 points in the Test rankings for batsmen. The India captain vaulted from 880 points to 900 following his 153 against South Africa in the Centurion Test.

Gavaskar had reached 916 points after he scored a remarkable 221 in his 50th Test at the Oval in 1979. In all, Kohli is the 31st batsman to 900 points in the Test rankings. Donald Bradman leads the list with 961 points followed by current Australia captain Steven Smith (947), who has drawn comparisons with Bradman after peeling off 687 runs in the Ashes series. In terms of Test averages, Smith is placed just below Bradman.

Smith is currently 47 points ahead of Kohli and 66 ahead of the third-placed Joe Root. Hashim Amla, who made 82 and set up South Africa for a first-innings lead in Centurion, moved from tenth to eighth, while his captain Faf du Plessis jumped two places up to a career-best 12th.

In the bowlers rankings, James Anderson reclaimed the top spot from Kagiso Rabada, who took four wickets in Centurion. The South Africa quick, who lost his top spot after only one Test, now trails Anderson by 15 points. India fast bowler Mohammed Shami, meanwhile, moved two places up to 17th after claiming a match haul of five wickets in Centurion.