London: Joe Root's scintillating form in the ongoing Test series against India has helped the England captain surge to the second spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Test batting rankings.

Root scored a sublime 180* in the first innings of the second Test match against India at Lord's and was one of the few bright spots in the hosts' 151-run defeat. Root was placed at No.5 before the start of the series but two centuries in two matches has brought him within striking distance of Kane Williamson's top spot.

KL Rahul also made massive gains in the batting charts, rising up 19 spots to 37 in batting rankings.

In the bowling rankings, James Anderson's five-wicket haul in the first innings helped him gain one spot to  No.6. Mark Wood and Mohammed Siraj also jumped up the rankings, gaining 5 and 18 spots respectively. Wood is currently ranked 37th with Siraj a spot behind at 38.

The nail-biting first Test match between West Indies and Pakistan also saw players improve significantly upon their standings. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam gained two slots to rise up to No.6 in the charts after scores of 30 and 55 in the match. Faheem Ashraf and Fawad Alam also rose up to No.48 and 55 respectively in the batting charts.

Jason Holder, after his brilliant all-round display, broke into the top 10 of the bowling rankings, gaining two positions to No.9. He also gained 5 spots in the batting rankings, rising up to 43.

Jayden Seales was another big gainer, soaring up 39 places to the 58th spot in the bowling charts after his eight wickets in the match. Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi also gained four spots to move up to No.18.