Wriddhiman Saha, Rohit Sharma move up in Test batsmen’s rankings
Indian batsmen Wriddhiman Saha and Rohit Sharma along with their counterpart Luke Ronchi of New Zealand have made notable gains in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen. The rankings were released after the conclusion of the second Test in Kolkata which India won by 178 runs to take a winning 2-0 lead and assure itself of the number-one Test team ranking at the end of the three-match series.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Saha’s unbeaten knocks of 54 and 58 not only earned him the player of the match award but has also propelled him 18 places to 56th position in the list of batsmen led by Australia captain Steve Smith. Sharma, who hit a crucial second-innings contribution of 82 helped India set a challenging 376-run target for New Zealand, has gained 14 slots to reach 38th rank.
Cheteshwar Pujara is the other India batsman to gain as he has moved up one slot to 15th position after scoring a total of 91 runs in Kolkata, including a first innings knock of 87. For New Zealand, Ronchi, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman in limited overs cricket who has played both Tests of the series as a specialist batsman, produced knocks of 35 and 32 to gain 12 slots and reach 40th rank. His compatriot and left-handed opener Tom Latham has gained three places to reach 33rd slot after innings of one and 74.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers led by South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn, India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s six wickets in the match, including a five for 48 in the first innings, have helped him gain nine slots to reach 26th place.
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His fellow pace bowler Mohammad Shami’s two three-wicket hauls have seen him move up two places to 23rd position, while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has gained one slot to reach sixth rank with four wickets in the match.
New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry, playing only his fifth Test match, has gained 16 slots to reach 61st position after grabbing five wickets in the match, while Trent Boult’s five wickets in Kolkata have seen him gain one position to reach ninth rank as he switched positions with compatriot left-arm pace bowler Neil Wagner who slipped from ninth to 10th rank.
Meanwhile, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson have slipped one slot each in the bowlers’ and batsmen’s rankings, respectively. The pair had risen from third to second positions after the opening Test in Kanpur.
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However, Ashwin’s four wickets in the Kolkata Test were not enough for him to retain the number-two position, while Williamson’s absence from the match due to illness meant he lost one percentage point from his rating points and, as such, has slipped back to the third position. Ashwin now trails England’s James Anderson by 11 points, while Williamson is eight points behind England’s Joe Root.
ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 4 October 2016, after the second Test between India and New Zealand)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge S/R Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Steve Smith Aus 906 58.55 936 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
2 (+1) Joe Root Eng 878 54.86 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 (-1) K.Williamson NZ 870 51.05 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 847 51.16 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 ( – ) Younus Khan Pak 845 53.72 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
6= ( – ) Adam Voges Aus 802* 72.75 824 v SL at Galle 2016
( – ) AB de Villiers SA 802 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
8 ( – ) David Warner Aus 772 48.63 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
9 ( – ) Alastair Cook Eng 770 47.31 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
10 ( – ) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 764 48.27 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
11 ( – ) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 761 47.57 785 v WI at Trinidad 2016
15 (+1) C. Pujara Ind 708 47.59 851 v SA at Durban 2013
16 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 692 46.74 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
20 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 673 43.76 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
21 (-5) Murali Vijay Ind 663 40.49 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015
33 (+3) Tom Latham NZ 583 38.38 597 v Zim at Bulawayo 2016
35 (-2) B. J. Watling NZ 565 37.88 644 v Eng at Headingley 2015
38 (+14) Rohit Sharma Ind 531* 35.40 578 v NZ at Wellington 2014
40 (+12) Luke Ronchi NZ 525*! 50.66 525 v Ind at Kolkata 2016
56 (+18) W. Saha Ind 454*! 31.09 454 v NZ at Kolkata 2016
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 878 22.24 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
2 (+1) James Anderson Eng 870 28.28 884 v SL at Durham 2016
3 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 859 25.14 876 v WI at Antigua 2016
4 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 836 28.52 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
5 ( – ) Rangana Herath SL 831 28.71 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
6 (+1) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 809*! 23.14 809 v NZ at Kolkata 2016
7 (-1) Yasir Shah Pak 806* 27.48 878 v Eng at Lord’s 2016
8 ( – ) Mitchell Starc Aus 792! 27.36 792 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
9 (+1) Trent Boult NZ 739 29.03 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
10 (-1) Neil Wagner NZ 738* 29.63 760 v SA at Centurion 2016
Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
21 ( – ) Ishant Sharma Ind 573 36.71 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
23 (+2) M. Shami Ind 570*! 32.60 570 v NZ at Kolkata 2016
26 (+9) B.Kumar Ind 501*! 28.04 501 v NZ at Kolkata 2016
61 (+16) Matt Henry NZ 255*! 46.06 255 v Ind at Kolkata 2016
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 430 450 v NZ at Kanpur 2016
2 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3 ( – ) Moeen Ali Eng 292/*! 292 v Pak at The Oval 2016
4 (-1) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 286*/* 292 v NZ at Kanpur 2016
5 ( – ) Mitchell Starc Aus 279! 279 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
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