Azhar Ali rises to No.8 in ICC Test Rankings after the WI v PAK 2nd Test

Pakistan opener Azhar Ali has moved up to joint eighth position in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after the second Test in Bridgetown which the West Indies won by 106 runs on Thursday to level the three-match series at 1-1. Azhar’s scores of 105 and 10 have helped him move up two places to be on par with South Africa batsman Hashim Amla in a list led by Australia captain Steve Smith.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has retained 20th position after innings of 99 and zero in what was his penultimate Test match while opener Ahmed Shehzad has moved up four positions to joint-62nd rank after scores of 70 and 14. For the West Indies, Roston Chase’s knocks of 131 and 23 have lifted him 21 places to a career-best 49thposition while Shai Hope has moved into the top-100 after gaining 19 positions to reach 101st rank with scores of 131 and 23 in Bridgetown.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s nine-wicket match haul, which included an impressive seven for 94 in the second innings, has lifted him two positions to 13th rank. Pace bowler Mohammad Abbas is another Pakistan player to move up as he has gained 42 positions to reach 61st position after playing in only two Tests.

For the West Indies, new-ball bowler Shannon Gabriel and captain Jason Holder have attained career-best rankings. Gabriel’s nine-wicket match haul, which included a crucial five for 11 that helped dismiss Pakistan for only 81 in the second innings, enabled him to move into the top-20 as he gained 14 slots to reach 19thposition.

Holder’s three wickets in each innings saw him gain 12 positions and reach 40th rank. He has also moved up five positions to 11th rank in the list of all-rounders led by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan.

Here are the latest rankings after the WI v PAK, 2nd Test:

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team      Pts        Avge   Highest Rating

1       ( – )       Steve Smith      Aus      941!     61.05   941 v Ind at Dharamsala 2017

2       ( – )       K. Williamson    NZ        880      51.16   893 v Aus at Perth 2015

3       ( – )       Joe Root           Eng      848      52.80   917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

4       ( – )       C. Pujara          Ind       846      51.32   861 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

5       ( – )       Virat Kohli         Ind       818      49.41   895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017

6       ( – )       Q. de Kock       SA        802*!   51.26   802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017

7       ( – )       David Warner    Aus      759      47.42   880 v NZ at Perth 2015

8=     (+1)      Hashim Amla    SA        748      49.39   907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

(+2)      Azhar Ali           Pak      748      46.51   787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

10      (+1)      Lokesh Rahul    Ind       739*!   44.44   739 v Aus at Dharamsala 2017

Other selected rankings

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team      Pts      Avge    Highest Rating

14       (-6)       Younus Khan    Pak      720      52.32    880 v SL at Lahore 2009

20       ( – )       Misbah-ul-Haq   Pak      683      46.91    842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

49       (+21)    Roston Chase   WI        503*!   39.85    503 v Pak at Barbados 2017

62        (+4)     A. Shehzad       Pak      454*    40.91    555 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2015

101       (+19)    Shai Hope         WI        318*!   19.17    318 v Pak at Barbados 2017

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team      Pts      Avge    Highest Rating

1       ( – )       R. Jadeja          Ind       898      23.12    899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

2       ( – )       R. Ashwin         Ind       865      25.22    904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

3       ( – )       R. Herath          SL        854      27.87    867 v Zim at Harare 2016

4       ( – )       J. Hazlewood    Aus      826      25.39   863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

5       ( – )       J. Anderson      Eng      810      28.50   884 v SL at Durham 2016

6       ( – )       S. Broad           Eng      803      28.54   880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

7       ( – )       K. Rabada        SA        798*    23.69   821 v SL at Johannesburg 2017

8       ( – )       Dale Steyn        SA        794       22.30   909 v WI at Centurion 2014

9       ( – )       Neil Wagner      NZ        745       28.90   767 v SA at Dunedin 2017

10      ( – )       Mitchell Starc    Aus      742       28.35   805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016

Other selected rankings

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team      Pts       Avge    Highest Rating

13        (+2)      Yasir Shah        Pak      700      30.06   878 v Eng at Lord’s 2016

19        (+14)    S. Gabriel         WI        600*!   33.20   600 v Pak at Barbados 2017

40        (+12)    Jason Holder     WI        425*!   36.92   425 v Pak at Barbados 2017

61        (+42)    M. Abbas          Pak      268*!   23.44   268 v WI at Barbados 2017

All-rounders (top five)

Rank    (+/-)      Player              Team      Pts      Highest Rating

1       ( – )       S. Al Hasan       Ban      431      443 v NZ at Christchurch 2017

2       ( – )       R. Jadeja          Ind       422!     422 v Aus at Dharamsala 2017

3       ( – )       R. Ashwin         Ind       413      493 v Eng at Mohali 2016

4       ( – )       Ben Stokes       Eng      327 /*  351 v Ind at Mohali 2016

5       ( – )       Mitchell Starc    Aus      318      347 v Ind at Pune 2017