London: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson enters the New Year as the top-ranked test batsman after leapfrogging Australia’s Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli in the latest official rankings issued on Thursday.
Williamson, who returned from paternity leave this month, hit a match-winning century in the opening test against Pakistan to help New Zealand win by 101 runs at Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.
Smith is in the middle of a rare slump in form and dropped behind Kohli after registering four single-digit scores at the halfway stage of the ongoing four-test series against India.
Kohli, who topscored for India in their eight-wicket thrashing by Australia in the series opener in Adelaide, has returned home for the birth of his first child.
India’s stand-in skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, jumped to number six after his stellar hundred in the second test inspired the tourists to a series-levelling victory in Melbourne.
Australia’s Pat Cummins remains the top-ranked test bowler, while compatriot Mitchell Starc jumped two places to enter the top five.
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (seventh) and quick Jasprit Bumrah (ninth) improved their top 10 positions after their impressive performance in the Melbourne test.
Following this achievement, the Kiwi skipper said he was just trying to do the best for his side which reflected in the rankings.
It’s about trying to do as much as you can for the team. If you can contribute as much as you can and it can be reflected on the rankings, that’s really cool, Williamson said in a video posted on ICC’s official Twitter handle.
Those two (Virat Kohli and Steve Smith) players are the best. For me, sneak up ahead of someone (like them) is very surprising and humbling. Those are the two players year and year out in all formats moving the game forward, very fortunate to play against these guys, Willaimson said.
It was a great game to be involved in. We seem to have many tight finishes against Pakistan. The last three have gone to the last 25 minutes of the last day. Both teams fought incredibly hard. I think we had moments although the resistance put up by Pakistan on the last day was incredibly strong. It is really exciting to cross the line and hunt for an opportunity for the World Test Championship, he added.