New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has leapfrogged Australia’s Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to become the number one batsman in Test cricket in the ICC rankings.
Williamson moved up from the third position to first after his ‘Player of the Match’ performance against Pakistan this week, scoring 129 in the first innings and a rapid 21 in the second, guiding New Zealand to a 101-run victory.
While Kohli retained his second spot despite missing the Boxing Day Test against Australia due to paternity leave, Smith slipped to the third spot after managing only single-digit scores in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
After reaching the top position, Williamson said he was just trying to do the best for his side, and it now reflects 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.
The Kiwi skipper occupied the No. 1 spot towards the end of 2015, but either Smith or Kohli have been at the top since.
“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.
💬 "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."
📽️ WATCH: The new World No.1 in Tests reacts to the latest ICC Rankings update 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qIAZTrPdTS
— ICC (@ICC) December 31, 2020
