Dubai; Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara jumped a couple of rungs to second, while skipper Virat Kohli held on to the fifth spot in the latest ICC rankings for Test batsmen, issued here today.
Pujara trails Australian captain Steve Smith, who has extended his lead at the top but the next four batsmen are separated by just 11 points in the latest rankings, the ICC said in a statement.

Pujara has returned to number-two ranking after scoring 143 in his side’s huge victory by an innings and 239 runs against Sri Lanka in Nagpur.He had first peaked to second following the Ranchi Test against Australia in March, while the last time he was second was following his 133 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August.

Pujara has been rewarded with 22 points, lifting him from fourth to second on a career-high 888 points.
The 29-year-old now leads his fifth-ranked captain Kohli by 11 points. Kohli has vaulted from 817 points to 877 points after scoring his fifth career double-century in 62 Tests.

Smith, on the other hand, stroked an unbeaten 141, his 21st century in his 57th Test, which was the cornerstone of Australia’s 10-wicket victory over England in the first Ashes Test.

For his performance, Smith has gained five points to rise to 941 points, making him joint-fifth in terms of the highest points tally in batting history in Tests behind Sir Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs (942) and Ricky Ponting (942), and at par with Peter May (941).

England captain Joe Root is sitting third and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is occupying the fourth spot, while sixth-ranked David Warner of Australia is another 51 points behind Kohli.

India opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma, who were the other centurions in the just-concluded Test, have also made impressive gains. Vijay has risen eight places to 28th position, while Rohit has shot up seven places to 46th spot.