England batsman Joe Root and Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath have moved up to take the second positions among batsmen and bowlers, respectively, in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after their fine performances in recent matches.
Root’s knocks of 124 and four in the drawn opening match of a five-Test series against India in Rajkot have seen him overtake New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen.
Root, who was top-ranked in August 2015 during a home series against Australia and again two months laterduring a series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, is three points ahead of Williamson at 844 points and 42 points adrift of Australia captain Steve Smith.
England captain Alastair Cook, who had scores of 21 and 130 in Rajkot, has moved up one slot to 10th rank and his team-mates Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes have made significant gains after slamming first-innings centuries in Rajkot. Ali has moved up six slots to reach 26th rank while Stokes has gained eight places to reach 32nd position.