Dubai: Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara has reclaimed the number-one batting spot from West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after another big century against Pakistan in the second Test that ended in a draw at the Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo on Wednesday.
Sangakkara, who entered the Test trailing Chanderpaul by six ratings points, earned 42 ratings points for his magnificent 192 that has put him 36 points clear of the West Indian and just eight points short of once again returning to the 900 points mark.
The 900 points mark is an indication of true quality as to achieve it, a player has to be among the very best over a protracted period, something confirmed by the fact only 25 players (including Sangakkara) in Test history have got there.
Sangakkara’s career-best 938 ratings points, which he achieved against England in Kandy in 2007, has already put him alongside Sir Garry Sobers in sixth position on the Reliance ICC best-ever Test Championship Rating list.
The 34-year-old from Matale, who scored 199 and one in the Galle Test last week, has already collected 113 ratings points in two Tests and the form he is enjoying indicates that this tally will only rise.A repeat of the SSC Test performance in the third Test starting in Pallekele from Sunday will potentially help him move further up the order in the all-time ratings list.
Sangakkara’s consistency for a prolonged period can be judged by the fact that he hasn’t dropped outside the top 10 after entering the select group in July 2006, following his 287 in a world record 624-run third wicket partnership with Mahela Jayawardena (374) against South Africa in the SSC Test, which the home side won by an innings and 153 runs.
Sangakkara, who first topped the batting chart in December 2007, last surged to the top of the table in November 2011 before slipping down the order earlier this March after managing scores of naught and 14 against England in the Galle Test.
Apart from Sangakkara, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali also scored big hundreds and, as such, have made upward movements.
Dilshan scored 121 and added 225 runs for the second wicket with Sangakkara. For this effort, the opener has been rewarded with a jump of five places which puts him just outside the top 20 in 23rdposition.
Pakistan’s Azhar Ali stroked a superb 157 and featured in a 287-run second wicket partnership with opener Mohammad Hafeez. This effort has earned Azhar 39 ratings points which lift him six places to 13th position.
Hafeez, who scored a brilliant 196, collected 44 ratings points and has moved up six places to 30thposition.
Other batsmen to head in the right direction include Misbah-ul-Haq in 11th (up by three places) and Taufeeq Umar in 40th (up by six places).
There are no big movers inside the top 20 in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers except Pakistan’s Abdul Rehman who has climbed two places to 11th following his five wickets in the match.
Outside the top 20, Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan, who picked up the man of the match award for his five for 73 in the first innings, has vaulted 17 places and now sits in 42nd position. This is his career-best ranking.
The bowlers’ list is headed by Dale Steyn of South Africa with Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal in second position. Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath is sitting in fourth place, 48 points behind the Pakistani and 20 points behind England’s third-ranked James Anderson.
For more information go to www.reliancemobileiccrankings.com
Reliance ICC Test Rankings (as on 5 July, after second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 (+1) K.Sangakkara SL 892 56.63 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
2 (-1) S.Chanderpaul WI 856 50.44 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
3 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 821! 49.16 821 v NZ at Wellington 2012
4 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 819 56.78 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
5 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 796 52.36 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
6 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 771 48.77 855 v Eng at Headingley 2009
7 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 763 46.98 842 v Ind at Kolkata 2010
8 ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 761 43.52 775 v Pak at Wellington 2009
9 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 756 48.54 836 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
10 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 753 49.64 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
11= ( - ) Sachin Tendulkar Ind 749 55.44 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
(+3) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 749 46.64 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
13 (+6) Azhar Ali Pak 742 44.07 749 v Eng at Dubai 2012
14= (-2) T.Samaraweera SL 723 51.48 775 v SA at Cape Town 2012
(+1) Ian Bell Eng 723 47.63 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
16 (-3) M.Jayawardene SL 719 50.80 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
17 (-1) Kevin Pietersen Eng 718 49.33 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
18 (-1) Jonathan Trott Eng 709 51.22 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
19 (-1) Mike Hussey Aus 705 50.07 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
20 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 691 52.75 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
23 (+5) T.Dilshan SL 649 41.21 700 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
30 (+6) M.Hafeez Pak 595! 38.46 595 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2012
31 ( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 591*! 39.78 591 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2012
40 (+6) Taufeeq Umar Pak 529* 39.32 703 v SA at Faisalabad 2003
42 (-4) Asad Shafiq Pak 522* 35.95 544 v SL at Galle 2012
47 (-2) P.Jayawardena SL 492 31.81 510 v Eng at Galle 2012
48 ( - ) N.T.Paranavitana SL 486 32.48 547 v Pak at Sharjah 2011
78 (-3) Adnan Akmal Pak 331* 25.40 362 v Eng at Dubai 2012
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 886 23.18 902 v SL at Centurion 2011
2 ( - ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 813 27.50 836 v SL at Galle 2012
3 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 785 30.05 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
4 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 765 32.29 781 v Pak at Galle 2012
5 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 764*! 14.15 764 v NZ at Wellington 2012
6 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 758 30.42 783 v WI at Lord's 2012
7 ( - ) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 756* 28.03 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
8 ( - ) Graeme Swann Eng 742 28.57 858 v Pak at Lord's 2010
9 ( - ) Peter Siddle Aus 740 29.27 768 v Ind at Adelaide 2012
10 ( - ) Morne Morkel SA 733 30.03 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
11 (+2) Abdur Rehman Pak 711* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
12 (-1) Zaheer Khan Ind 697 31.78 752 v SA at Durban 2010
13 (-1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 678* 31.33 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
14 ( - ) Tim Bresnan Eng 657*! 26.09 657 v WI at Edgbaston 2012
15 ( - ) Chris Martin NZ 651 33.59 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
16 ( - ) Kemar Roach WI 620* 29.31 644 v Eng at Lord's 2012
17 (+1) Daniel Vettori NZ 611 34.16 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
18 (-1) Umar Gul Pak 607 33.03 642 v Eng at Dubai 2012
19 ( - ) Ryan Harris Aus 587* 23.63 614 v WI at Bridgetown 2012
20 ( - ) Pragyan Ojha Ind 572* 34.62 595 v WI at Mumbai 2011
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
40 (+1) Suraj Randiv SL 387*! 36.39 387 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2012
42 (+17) Junaid Khan Pak 375*! 28.85 375 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2012
49 (-6) N.Kulasekara SL 333* 34.22 367 v Pak at Galle 2012
52 (-2) M.Hafeez Pak 321* 33.89 332 v SL at Galle 2012
59 (-13) Aizaz Cheema Pak 293* 31.90 394 v Ban at Mirpur 2011
96 (+7) Angelo Mathews SL 86* 70.50 110 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2009
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 404 /*! 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 385 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
3 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 354 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
4 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 349 412 v Pak at Napier 2009
5 ( - ) Shane Watson Aus 334 /* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011
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