Virat Kohli retained his spot on top of the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen, while Marnus Labuschagne moved into the top five after his century in Australia’s first Test against New Zealand. Steve Smith, who was just five points adrift of Kohli last week, fell further behind after returns of 43 and 16 in the Perth Test but stayed in second position. Kane Williamson, who failed to impress at the WACA, and Cheteshwar Pujara also stayed put in third and fourth positions respectively.
Labuschagne kept up his fine run of form, scoring 143 and 50 against New Zealand. His century in Perth was his third ton in as many innings. He overtook compatriot David Warner, who dropped two spots in the rankings.
Another player who made major gains in the rankings is Babar Azam. The Pakistan batsman followed up his impressive performances in Australia with a century against Sri Lanka on the last day of the first Test held in Pakistan since 2009. His unbeaten 102 saw him move up four spots to the ninth position.
