Virat Kohli creates new order in ICC rankings, Ashwin emerges as king, Axar Patel enters in style

Several Indian cricketers, including Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel, have made significant improvements in the ICC Test rankings following India's 2-1 series win over Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Virat Kohli, in particular, has led the way, scoring his first Test century in over three years and propelling seven places to be ranked No. 13 on the list. 

Kohli, who was once the world's No. 1 ranked batter in all formats, had fallen out of the Top-10 in July last year after a string of poor performances. While he still hasn't broken into the top 10, his knock of 186 for Indian fans is hopefully a sign of things to come. 

With a jump of seven places, Virat Kohli has become India's highest and the second-highest run-getter of BGT 2023. Only Rishabh Pant (ranked 5th) and Rohit Sharma (10th) are the two Indians ahead of him. Kohli ended the series with 297 runs, second only to Usman Khawaja. Although Kohli may not have scored big, he consistently displayed his free-flowing style throughout the series. In Delhi, he played a 44-run knock that many believed was his best in a long time. In the series decider, he stepped up and held one end, leading India to take the lead and bat Australia out of the contest with his 28th Test century, which took 1205 days to achieve.

On the other hand, Ashwin has solidified his position as the top-ranked bowler, surpassing James Anderson. The two had been neck-and-neck in the rankings, but Ashwin's impressive performance in Ahmedabad, where he took five wickets, pushed him ahead by 10 points. This was Ashwin's 32nd five-wicket-haul as well.

Ashwin's success was not limited to the rankings, as he was also named Player of the Series alongside his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja. Throughout the series, Ashwin took a total of 26 wickets, including two 5-wicket-hauls and four 3-wicket-hauls. His performance was nothing short of pure excellence.

In addition to Kohli and Ashwin, Axar Patel also received a well-deserved reward for his outstanding performance in the series. Despite only taking two wickets, the left-arm spinner's exceptional batting skills earned him 264 runs, including three half-centuries, and propelled him up eight places to rank 44 on the list of Test batters.

Axar's career-best innings of 84 in the first Test and his 74-run knock in Delhi were crucial contributions to India's comprehensive victories. He stepped up when his team needed him the most, demonstrating his remarkable growth as a batsman.

To further prove his batting prowess, Axar smashed an entertaining 79 in his hometown of Ahmedabad, partnering with Kohli for a massive 262-run partnership.

After securing their fourth consecutive series win over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit Sharma's Team India is set to continue their rivalry with the visitors in a thrilling One Day International (ODI) series. As part of their ongoing tour, the two-time world champions will play three ODIs against the Australian side. However, it's worth noting that Pat Cummins, the star pacer, had to return home due to a family emergency, and Steve Smith will be standing in for him. 

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