Twitter Erupts as Virat Kohli Leapfrogs Steven Smith in ICC Test Rankings

After having phenomenal success in the first Test of the five-match series against England in Edgbaston, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli has completed another milestone by toppling Australian batting mainstay in the ICC Test Ranking to hold the numero uno position.

Virat Kohli edges Steven Smith to top the Test charts:

In the latest ICC Test rankings, Kohli overtook Smith by a close margin. The Indian skipper jumped from the second position to the first position to push Smith to the second position with 929 points.

The former skipper of Australia, Smith earlier faced suspension after being a prime plotter in “Sandpaper gate” controversy which surfaced during the penultimate Cape Town Test in South Africa. As a result, Smith suffered a ban of one-year resulting his absence from international circuit.

Kohli garnered 31 points in the single match courtesy his masterclass batting. He scored a splendid knock of 149 in the first inning followed by hard-fought 51 in the second innings. Above all, it was his maiden ton on the English soil.

With this dynamic performance, he amassed 934 points in ICC Test Rankings. As a result, he has left behind many cricketing greats when it comes to receiving the highest scores. Among them, the top names include – Hashim Amla, Kevin Pietersen, Mohammad Yousuf and Brian Lara.

The 29-year-old Kohli is overall the seventh Indian to achieve the top brass in ICC Test rankings. Furthermore, he is the first Indian since Sachin Tendulkar to register his name. Noteworthy, The Indian batting legend, Tendulkar got this honour in 2011.

Besides this, 934 points by Indian skipper is the second-highest rating points achieved by an Asian batsman in Test history. As a result, he is only behind Sri Lankan former skipper, Kumar Sangakkara who has 938.

Moreover, Kohli had entered the Edgbaston Test on 903 points, 13 points behind Sunil Gavaskar, and is now ahead of the ICC Hall of Famer by 18 points.

Also, have a look at Twitter reactions:

Twitter galore soon when Virat Kohli achieved this milestone. Consequently, many cricketing greats and other fans wished Kohli on this awe after edging past Steven Smith in the latest ICC Test Rankings.

In addition, some of the congratulatory Tweets are:

Will Kohli surpass Sachin? https://t.co/dbOej3tcS8

— cricfrenzy.com (@Cricfrenzylive) August 5, 2018

Steve Smith has been banned for 4 months and he is still No.2#GOAT https://t.co/TfVo9GJiWM

— Dahibara Aloodam (@dahibaraaloodam) August 5, 2018

Best batting rating achieved by Indians in each format:

Tests: Virat Kohli – 934, 2018*
ODIs: Virat Kohli – 911, 2018
T20Is: Virat Kohli – 897, 2014#ENGvIND

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) August 5, 2018

Numero Uno! #TeamIndia captain @imVkohli overtakes Steve Smith to become the new no.1 batsman in the ICC Test rankings. He is the 1st Indian to be No.1 since the great @sachin_rt who achieved this in 2011. pic.twitter.com/Q6ZXWnM9vh

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 5, 2018

Virat Kohli leapfrogs Steven Smith as Test cricket's new No. 1 batsman – he is first Indian to reach top spot since Sachin Tendulkar in 2011 https://t.co/zs2xYOeP8J pic.twitter.com/8W9v2X60VA

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) August 5, 2018

KOHLI IS NO.1@imVkohli has overtaken Steve Smith to become the new No.1 batsman in @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Rankings.

He is the first Indian since @sachin_rt to get there.

READ ⬇️https://t.co/Hw7OCimIKw pic.twitter.com/s8h4fNmJYK

— ICC (@ICC) August 5, 2018

Virat Kohli has become the seventh Indian batsman and first since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011 to top the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen #Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) August 5, 2018

I still remember a video log in which @cricketaakash said "I won't be surprised if Kohli tops in ICC test ranking at the end of 2018" which was posted in the end of 2017 maybe. And today he is No.1 batsman in the world.?? #ViratKohli

— viroot (@Imsahil_11) August 5, 2018

Virat Kohli leapfrogs Steve Smith to become the world No.1-ranked Test batsman: https://t.co/rnLm3qEvXe #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/czEEvVuFic

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) August 5, 2018

Virat Kohli is now the number one batsman in ICC Test Rankings. He has overtaken Steve Smith with career-best 934 points.

934 is the second-highest rating achieved by an Asian batsman in Test history, only behind Kumar Sangakkara (938).

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) August 5, 2018