Steve Smith replaces Kane Williamson as No. 1 Test batsman, Virat Kohli rises to fourth

Steve Smith happens to be one of the best batsmen in world cricket and a part of the four horsemen, involving Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli and Joe Root. While he leads the batting ranking chart in Test cricket, he faces stiff competition from the other three.

Steve Smith has reclaimed his spot as the best in Test cricket, as he has once again risen to the top of the ICC Test Rankings for Batsmen. While he had lost his spot following the Boxing Day Test against India last year, which Australia lost, a dip in performance by some of the batsmen has helped him reclaim his place.

Smith has been on the top of the Test batting rankings for 167 Tests and is third in the list, behind Garry Sobers (189) and Viv Richards (179). He has replaced New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, announced International Cricket Council in a release.

Williamson recently took part in the two-Test series against England, where he could manage just 13 in the opening Test. However, he missed the following Test while preparing to lead the side in the ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 final against India from Friday at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

Meanwhile, English Test skipper Joe Root has fallen to fifth place. Although he scored 82 runs in the opening Test against New Zealand, he could manage just 15 in the second Test.

Consequently, Root's fall has helped Indian skipper Virat Kohli to replace him in the fourth spot. Without a Test century for over a year, Kohli is preparing to lead his side in the WTC final. He would eye a splendid outing in it, as it would not just for his rise in the Test rankings, but most importantly, in helping India in becoming the king of Test cricket. Among the other scales, Australian opener Marnus Labuschagne keeps the third spot, while Indian wicketkeeper-batsman stays at sixth along with fellow Indian opener Rohit Sharma.

Aussie pacer Pat Cummins stays on top in the bowling rankings, followed by Ravichandran Ashwin in second and Tim Southee in third. As for the all-rounders, Windies's Jason Holders holds the top spot, followed by Ravindra Jadeja in second, Ben Stokes in third and Ashwin in fourth.

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