ICC Test Rankings: Labuschagne rises to No. 1, closes in on Virat Kohli's feat

Marnus Labuschagne rose to the No. 1 spot in ICC Test Rankings for batters after his heroic performances in the first Test against the West Indies at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Labuschagne ended Joe Root's reign at the top of the batting charts after a double hundred and a hundred in the series opener at home.

Steve Smith, who will lead Australia in the 2nd Test as stand-in captain, rose to the 2nd spot after his double hundred in the series opener in Perth.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, meanwhile, rose to the 3rd spot after his valiant hundred against England in the thrilling Rawalpindi Test which England won on the final day. Babar led the scoring for Pakistan in their first innings with 136 after England posted a mammoth first-innings total of



657.

Former England captain Joe Root fell to the 4th spot despite scoring 23 and 73 in the two innings of the Rawalpindi Test.

Marnus Labuschagne is one shy of matching his career-best rating points of 936. The Perth Test heroics - 204 and 104 not out -- helped him move to 935 points in the all-time rating charts.

Labuschagne will have the opportunity to move past former India captain Virat Kohli on the all-time list of rating points if he gets going in the 2nd Test against the West Indies, starting December 8 in Adelaide. Kohli is not playing a Test match until the second week of December where he will turn up for India against Bangladesh in a 2-match series.

Virat Kohli, who is at the 11th spot, has a career-best rating point of 937.