R Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Usman Khawaja, Temba Bavuma and Tim Southee are the winners in the latest update of ICC Test Rankings. The updated list has been prepared to take into consideration India vs Australia’s fourth test along with the first Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Christchurch and the second Test between South Africa and West Indies in Southampton.
R Ashwin who achieved the remarkable milestone of highest wickets in the Border Gavaskar Trophy with 25 wickets in his kitty reclaimed the No 1 spot in the bowlers’ rankings. Ashwin is 10 points ahead of James Anderson who is acquiring the second spot on the rankings list. On the other hand, New Zealand’s ODI captain Tim Southee who bagged seven wickets in their thrilling win over Sri Lanka in the first Test moved up by six spots to 12th position.
Virat Kohli earns big in ICC Test Rankings after his 186-run knock
In the batters Rankings list, Virat Kohli registered his 28th Test Century and ended his prolonged Test drought during the fourth Test. His rewarding 186-run knock helped him to move up by seven places to the 13th position. Australia’s star batter Khawaja who registered an astonishing Ton too moved up by two places to occupy a seventh spot in the Rankings list. Meanwhile, Green who registered his maiden Test ton moved up by 11 spots to 26th position while Travis Head continues to occupy the 5th spot on the list, thanks to his match-saving 90 runs knock in the final Test which helped Australia to draw the match.
Coming to New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Test, Daryl Mitchell’s 102 and 81 in Christchurch Test helped him to jump by four places to occupy an eighth position on the list.
Not to forget the South Africa vs West Indies second Test which also saw the rise of Temba Bavuma who scored a Test Ton after seven glorious years. His blistering 172 runs knock in the second innings helped him to move up by 14 spots to the 15th position in ICC Test Rankings for batters. On the other hand, power-hitter Aiden Markam who returned with scores of 115 & 96 moved up by 11 spots to acquire a 22nd spot.
Axar Patel and Kyle Mayers move up in the rankings
The latest rankings update also saw all-rounders such as Axar Patel and Kyle Mayers move up on the all-rounder rankings list. Axar marched up to the 4th spot after scoring 246 runs combined during Delhi and Nagpur Tests along with scalping three wickets. Meanwhile, Mayers grabbed the seventh spot on the all-rounder’s list by scalping seven wickets which makes him the joint-highest wicket-taker in the two-match Test series against South Africa. He made a decent gain of three spots with an impressive average of 14.42 with the ball.
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