Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s maiden 10-wicket match haul against England in Chennai has propelled him to second position behind teammate and India’s star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Jadeja’s performance has earned him 66 points and brought him within eight points of Ashwin.
This is just the second time the top two spots in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers have been occupied by India players, with the pair emulating left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi and leg-spinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, who were ranked one and two in 1974.
Jadeja grabbed 10-154 in the final Test and finished with 26 wickets in the five-match series while Ashwin ended with 28 wickets as India completed a 4-0 series victory, culminating with an innings and 75 runs win in Chennai.
Jadeja, who leapfrogged Josh Hazlewood, James Anderson, Dale Steyn and Rangana Herth, has also gained one place to reach a career-best third rank in the list of all-rounders, also led by Ashwin.
Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc is another one to rise in the rankings as he has moved up two slots to a career-best sixth position after taking seven wickets in the first Test against Pakistan in Brisbane, which his team won by 39 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Pace bowlers Ishant Sharma of India (up two places to 23rd rank), Wahab Riaz of Pakistan (up two places to a career-best 24th rank) and Australia’s Jackson Bird (up five places to 48th) are the others to make upward movements.
In the Batsmen Rankings, India’s Lokesh Rahul and Karun Nair have made huge gains. Rahul’s knock of 199 has helped him gain 29 slots to reach a career-best 51stposition while Nair’s unbeaten 303 in only his third Test innings has lifted him 122 places to 55th position.
Pakistan’s Younus Khan has moved up one place to eighth position, Azhar Ali has gained one slot to reach 16th rank, while Asad Shafiq has moved up five places to 20th rank after scoring two and 137 in Brisbane. Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has reached a career-best 18th rank after knocks of four and 74.
South Africa v Sri Lanka:
South Africa takes on Sri Lanka on home soil in a three-Test series starting on December 26 with the chance of going up to second or third position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings led by India with 120 points and with Australia on 105 points. The rankings will, however, depend on the outcome of an ongoing series between Australia and Pakistan which ends before this series.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 21 December, before the South Africa v Sri Lanka series)
Rank Team Points
1 India 120
2 Australia 105
3 Pakistan 102
4 South Africa 102
5 England 101
6 New Zealand 96
7 Sri Lanka 96
8 West Indies 69
9 Bangladesh 65
10 Zimbabwe 05
(Developed by David Kendix)
Series schedule:
26-30 December – 1st Test, Port Elizabeth
2-6 January – 2nd Test, Cape Town
12-16 January – 3rd Test, Johannesburg
South Africa return to Cardiff to face England in the third and final NatWest International T20 on June 25th. CLICK HERE to secure your seats for the clash