CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress / ITDC News Bhopal: A nine-wicket haul in his 100th Test match has helped Ravichandran Ashwin re-claim top spot from teammate Jasprit Bumrah on the latest ICC Test Bowling Rankings.
Ashwin was at his brilliant best throughout the Dharamsala contest against England as the experienced right-armer picked up four wickets in the first innings and then a 36th five-wicket haul in the second innings as India cruised to a dominant triumph in the fifth and final Test of their series.
The big haul helped Ashwin move past Bumrah into the premier position that he previously held earlier this year, while Bumrah falls into a share of second with Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood following his six scalps in the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.
This is the sixth time that Ashwin has claimed the top spot in the Test bowlers’ rankings, with his first stint dating back to December 2015.
Ashwin’s Indian teammate Kuldeep Yadav earns a new career-high rating and jumps 15 places to 16th overall on the latest Test rankings for bowlers following his seven wickets and Player of the Match heroics against England, while Kiwi Matt Henry (up six spots to 12th) also moves up to career-best, breaching the 700-point mark for the first time.
Men’s Test Bowler Rankings
There is also joy for a trio of India batters following decent scores in that Dharamsala Test, with skipper Rohit Sharma (103), fellow top-order performer Shubman Gill (110) and young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (57) rewarded for their efforts.
At 740, only Don Bradman (752) and Mike Hussey (741) had more rating points than the Indian youngster after nine Test matches.
Rohit rises five places to sixth and closes to within 108 rating points of No.1 ranked Test batter Kane Williamson, while Jaiswal (up two places to eighth) and Gill (up 11 spots to equal 20th) reach new career-best ratings following excellent individual series against Ben Stokes’ side.
Men’s Test Batting Rankings
Australia veteran Steve Smith drops to fifth following a pair of failures in the second Test against New Zealand, with Pakistan right-hander Babar Azam (up two places) and Kiwi batter Daryl Mitchell (up one spot) sharing third behind Williamson and England’s Joe Root in second.
Australia duo Alex Carey (up 12 places to 38th) and Mitch Marsh (up eight spots to 55th) also make some ground on the list for Test batters, while Kiwi young gun Rachin Ravindra also earns a career-best rating following a 10-spot jump to 66th.
India spinner Ravindra Jadeja remains well out in front of second-placed Ashwin on the updated list for Test all-rounders, with Australia skipper Pat Cummins (up two places to eighth) and Henry (up six spots to 11th) among the big movers.
Men’s Test All-Rounder Rankings
There was little movement on the white-ball rankings over the last week, although Ireland youngster Harry Tector split the dominance by Pakistan and India players on the latest ODI rankings for batters following his good series against Afghanistan.
Tector hit a brilliant 138 during the opening game of that ODI series in Sharjah and moved up two places to fourth on the latest rankings for batters after reaching a new career-high rating.
Men’s ODI Batting Rankings
In the process Tector leapfrogged Rohit (fifth) and Mitchell (sixth), with the 24-year-old Ireland star now within one rating point of India star Virat Kohli (third) and slowly closing in on Babar (first) and Gill (second) in the premier positions.
Afghanistan pair Ibrahim Zadran (up three places to equal 14th) and Player of the Series Rahmanullah Gurbaz (up two spots to 22nd) also make some ground, while teammate Fazalhaq Farooqi (up 10 spots to 41st) is the eye-catcher on the updated ODI rankings for bowlers.