India players Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Ravichandran Ashwin have all prospered in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings after compiling centuries in the first match of their ICC World Test Championship series against Bangladesh played in Chennai.
Pant has re-entered the rankings in sixth position after scores of 39 and 109, Gill has moved up from fifth to a career-best 14thposition after his unbeaten 119 in the second innings while Ravichandran Ashwin’s crucial 113 in the first innings has lifted him seven places to 72nd position.
Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who partnered in a decisive 199-run first innings partnership to build the base for a 280-run victory, have gained across the ranking lists.
Jadeja’s contribution of 86 in that partnership has helped him move up three places to 37th position in the batting rankings, Ashwin has consolidated his position at the top of the bowling rankings by gaining one rating point after his six-wicket second innings haul and Jadeja has moved up one spot to sixth position after finishing with five wickets in the match.
The two have also gained ranking points in the rankings for all-rounders. Jadeja has consolidated his position at the top with a career-best 475 points while Ashwin remains second but has added 48 points to go up to 370.
In other movements for India players, opener Yashaswi Jaiswal is in the top five for the first time after notching a half-century in the first innings and fast bowler Akash Deep is up 10 places to 88th after grabbing two wickets.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hussain Shanto’s scores of 20 and 82 have helped him progress 14 places to 48th position and seam bowler Hasan Mahmud’s five-for in the first innings has lifted him five positions to 44th among bowlers. Shakib Al Hassan (up one place to 43rd among batters) and Taskin Ahmed (up eight places to 66th among bowlers) are other gainers from the team.
In the latest weekly update that also considers performances in the Galle Test in which Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand by 63 runs, left-arm spinner Prabhat Jayasuriya has reached a career-best-equalling eighth position after a nine-wicket match haul that earned him the Player of the Match award.
Kamindu Mendis is another major gainer for the home side, moving up three places to 16th after his first innings century while Kusal Mendis (up four places to 51st among batters) and Ramesh Mendis (29th among bowlers) are others to gain.
New Zealand’s Tom Latham has gained two places and is in 33rd position after scoring 70 in the first innings while Rachin Ravindra is up 18 places to 42nd after scoring 92 in the second. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel has progressed from 35th to 25th after taking eight wickets in the match while William O’Rourke has moved from 51st to 41st.
Sri Lanka’s victory over New Zealand has lifted them to third position on percentage points in the ICC World Test Championship table. They are now on 50 per cent in the table led by India with 71.67 and Australia second with 62.50.
Gurbaz first Afghanistan batter in ODI top 10: Rahmanullah Gurbaz has surged 10 slots to eighth position, becoming the first from Afghanistan to reach the top 10 in the ODI batting rankings. His Player of the Series effort of 194 runs against South Africa has taken him to 692 rating points, the equal-highest by an Afghanistan batter along with Ibrahim Zadran.
Azmatullah Omarzai (up 15 places to 35th in batting) and leg-spinner Rashid Khan (up eight places to third in bowling) are the others to gain big for Afghanistan while Temba Bavuma (up four places to 25th in batting) and Lungi Ngidi (up 14 places to 20th in bowling) have gained for South Africa.
In other notable movements, Australia batter Travis Head, who smashed an unbeaten 154 against England in Nottingham, is back in the top 10 and leg-spinner Adam Zampa is in second position.
Twix Bond
Australia beat England by 45 runs in the first ever cricket Test as well as the Centenary Test in 1977. Australia beat England in the first ever Test match by 45 runs held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877. Hundred years later the opposition were the same, the venue was the same and the result as well!
Call Back Queen
Sport Trivia: Sally Little became golf\’s 12th LPGA millionaire in 1985. She first made her mark by being name the LPGA Rookie of the Year in what year? Answer: 1971-72. Sally Little went on to win 15 LPGA titles, including three majors.