New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson came back from paternity leave to hit a brilliant century against Pakistan at Mount Maunganui on Wednesday. His match-winning effort saw the Kiwis defeat Pakistan by 101 runs and also took him to the top of the ICC Test batting rankings.
Williamson overtook the likes of Steve Smith and Virat Kohli to earn the spot in the latest official rankings issued on Thursday.
Steve Smith, who saw just 10 runs coming from his willow in the first two Tests against India dropped behind Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Kohli top-scored for India in their first encounter against the Aussies at Adelaide but his effort wasn’t enough to save his team from a thumping defeat.
India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane went up to the number six spot after scoring a dazzling ton at Melbourne in the second Test which guided his team to a series-leveling victory.