New Delhi: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s match haul of 12 for 85 against New Zealand in the first Test in Hyderabad has helped him vault 19 places to a career-best 25th position in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, which were released on Monday.
Ashwin’s spells of six for 31 and six for 54 led his side to an innings and 115 runs victory, and also fetched him the player of the match award.
This win also gave India a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.
His overall rating of 542 is also a career-best for Ashwin.
Ashwin backed up his bowling performance with a handy knock of 37 in India’s total of 438.
The show with the bat has helped Ashwin move up by three places to 78th in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, while the combined performance with the bat and the ball has given him a career-high 12th position (up by 14 places) in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders.
Ashwin’s team-mate, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who ended with a match haul of six for 92, has also jumped six places to 15th spot, which is also his career best ranking. Ojha’s overall rating of 624 is also his best-ever rating.
Zaheer Khan, who remained wicketless in the match, has dropped two places to 14th while his pace partner Umesh Yadav has moved up two places to 47th.
For New Zealand, off-spinner Jeetan Patel, who finished with figures of four for 100, has jumped seven places to 52nd.
The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers is still headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn, with teammate Vernon Philander and Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan in second and third positions, respectively.
Meanwhile, the only centurion in the Hyderabad Test, Cheteshwar Pujara, has re-entered the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen in 58th position.
The India batsmen to make upward movements are MS Dhoni in 40th (up by three) and Virat Kohli, who is in now in 49thspot (up by two).
Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s top-scorer in the Test, is now in 39th position (up by eight) while Brendon McCullum has moved up a place to 25th spot.
Sachin Tendulkar has dropped out of the top 10 and is now in 11th place while Suresh Raina has slipped seven places to 80th.
New Zealand’s James Franklin has re-entered the rankings in 93rd position, while his team-mates Ross Taylor in 18th (down by six), Martin Guptill in 37th (down by five), Daniel Flynn in 79th (down by two) and Kruger van Wyk in 100th (down by 11) have dropped down in the latest rankings.
Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakarra remains the top-ranked batsman, followed by South Africa’s Hashim Amla and West Indies veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul in second and third positions, respectively.
By Indian Sports News Network
The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders is still headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan with South Africa’s Jacques Kallis in second spot.
