Jasprit Bumrah gets back to top 10 in Test bowlers' rankings

The New Zealand team destroyed the aura of an invincible Indian team in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship, as they handed them a Test series defeat by the margin of 0-2. This was Virat Kohli’s first whitewash as a Test captain for India since taking over from MS Dhoni in 2015. India lost the first Test in Wellington by 10 wickets, while were beaten by 7 wickets in Christchurch.

This meant that New Zealand pocketed a cool 120 points in the championship and went to the third spot with a total of 180 points to their name. Before this series, the Kiwis were sixth on the table with 60 points to their name. Australia remains on the second spot with 296 points to their name, while India reigns supreme at no.1 spot with 360 points to their name.

Big changes in batsmen and bowlers’ rankings as well

Tim Southee and Trent Boult proved to be the bane of Indian batting lineup which managed scores of 165, 191, 242 and 124 in four Test innings. Southee picked 14 wickets in the series, while Boult returned to cricket after his injuries with 11 wickets in the series, impressing one and all in the second Test of the series.

This was reflected in the ICC Test rankings for the bowlers as well, as Southee moved to the fourth position with 812 points to his name, while Boult moved to the ninth spot with 770 points to his name. Jasprit Bumrah, who also made his return to international cricket after recovering from a serious back injury, picked 6 wickets in the Test series and moved up to the seventh spot in the rankings. He was at the 11th spot before the 2nd Test. Pat Cummins remains no.1 Test bowler, while Neil Wagner of New Zealand remains no.2 with 843 points to his name.

The batsmen’s rankings saw the gap between no.1 ranked Steve Smith and second spot Virat Kohli increase. Smith has 911 points to his name, while Kohli, who managed just 38 runs in four innings, now has 886 points to his name. Cheteshwar Pujara scored one fifty in two Tests and this helped him move up to the 7th spot with 766 points to this name. Unfortunately, Kane Williamson lost a spot, moving to no.4 with 813 points to his name. Ajinkya Rahane as well moved to the 9th spot with 726 points to his name.

ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings

ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings