ICC Test Rankings: Smith closes in on Bradman; India still No. 1

India is still the No.1 side, maintaining a healthy lead over second-ranked South Africa.

The rest of the rankings did not see much change, with Indian captain Virat Kohli holding on to his second position with 893 points.

Joe Root’s lack of big scores has given Cheteshwar Pujara a lift. The Indian No. 3 is now at third.

In bowler’s list, England’s James Anderson is still at top after having a decent Test match at WACA.

India’s spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin has managed to hold onto their third and fourth positions.

The Indian record of highest rating points belongs to Sunil Gavaskar. He had reached 916 points in 1979.

Steve Smith, the top-ranked Test batsman, moved closer towards Don Bradman’s highest-ever ranking points, after a match-winning double-century in the third Test against England in Perth.

Smith’s match winning 239-run careers best effort saw him reach a tally of 945 points to take joint-second position in the all-time list, along with Len Hutton.

He is now within 16 points of Bradman’s tally of 961 points – all time record in the history of ICC Test Rankings.

Smith is already ahead of Bradman with regard to the number of Tests at the top. He has now been number one for 114 Tests, which is the fifth-most in a list led by Gary Sobers (189 Tests) and with Viv Richards (179), Lara (140) and Tendulkar (139) the only ones ahead of him in this list.

Steve Smith’s comparison with Don Bradman was fueled with the release of latest ICC Test Rankings, in which the Australian captain reached record points.