Dubai: Australia’s Steven Smith has become the second-youngest batsman behind only Indian great Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the number one ranking in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after stellar batting displays against West Indies in the Kingston Test, which Australia won by 277 runs to win the series 2-0 on Sunday.
There is no Indian in the top ten on the list after skipper Virat Kohli dropped to number 11.
Despite missing out on what would have been his first double century in his 28th Test, Smith has leap-frogged Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and the South Africa duo of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla following scores of 199 and 54 not out in the latest rankings, which were released on Monday morning.
Top 10 Test batsmen
| 1 | 913 | S.P.D. Smith | AUS |
| 2 | 909 | K.C. Sangakkara | SL |
| 3 | 908 | A.B. de Villiers | SA |
| 4 | 891 | H.M. Amla | SA |
| 5 | 841 | A.D. Mathews | SL |
| 6 | 836 | Younus Khan | PAK |
| 7 | 815 | J.E. Root | ENG |
| 8 | 813 | K.S. Williamson | NZ |
| 9 | 770 | Misbah-ul-Haq | PAK |
| 10 | 757 | D.A. Warner | AUS |
However, Sangakkara will have a chance to reclaim the top ranking when he features in the series against Pakistan, which starts in Galle on Wednesday.
It has been a meteoric rise for Smith who, at 26 years and 12 days, is only a few months short of Tendulkar, who topped the batting chart for the first time in 1999 at the age of 25 years and 279 days.
In achieving the landmark, Smith has also become the 23rd Australia batsman to top the batting table, with the last being captain Michael Clarke in January 2013.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Australia fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have also achieved career-best rankings.
Top 10 Test bowlers
| 1 | 905 | D.W. Steyn | SA |
| 2 | 824 | J.M. Anderson | ENG |
| 3 | 814 | T.A. Boult | NZ |
| 4 | 810 | R.J. Harris | AUS |
| 5 | 807 | H.M.R.K.B. Herath | SL |
| 6 | 803 | M.G. Johnson | AUS |
| 7 | 782 | S.C.J. Broad | ENG |
| 8 | 780 | V.D. Philander | SA |
| 9 | 727 | M. Morkel | SA |
| 10 | 713 | T.G. Southee | NZ |
Starc has moved up four places to 21st after match figures of four for 84, while Hazlewood has also gained four places following match figures of seven for 56 and is now in 27th spot.
