Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has jumped couple of places to move to second spot in the latest ICC Test rankings, after scoring a superb knock of 143 runs during his side’s huge victory by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Nagpur.
He had first peaked to second following the Ranchi Test against Australia in March, while the last time he was second was following his 133 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August.
Pujara has been rewarded with 22 points, which have lifted him from fourth to second on a career-high 888 points. The 29-year-old, who plays for Saurashtra in India’s domestic competitions, now leads his fifth-ranked captain Virat Kohli by 11 points.
Kohli has vaulted from 817 points to 877 points after scoring his fifth career double-century in 62 Tests.
India opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma, who were the other centurions in the just-concluded Tests, have also made impressive gains. Vijay has risen eight places to 28th position, while Rohit has shot up seven places to 46th spot.
In the bowlers’ rankings, Ravindra Jadeja has reclaimed second position following his match figures of five for 84, while Mitchell Starc has returned to the top 10 in 10th position after his match figures of six for 128 helped him to gain three places.
Ashwin, who became the fastest man to 300 wickets in Tests, has consolidated his fourth position by gaining nine points which have put him on 849 points. The India off-spinner is now 42 points behind number-one ranked James Anderson who has dropped five points after claiming two wickets in the Brisbane Test.
In the all-rounders’ rankings, Ashwin has returned to third place in the list which is headed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.
This post was published on November 29, 2017 6:34 pm