Rahane becomes India’s highest-ranked Test batsman

The 27-year-old from Maharashtra had entered the Test in 26th spot, but after scoring 127 and 100 not out, he has stormed up 14 places to claim a career-high 12th position. In doing so, Rahane has leapfrogged Virat Kohli (up by two places to 14th), Murali Vijay (down by four places to 16th) and Cheteshwar Pujara (down by two places to 17th) as India now has four batsmen inside the top 20.

Ravichandran Ashwin is the other batsman who has improved his ranking post the New Delhi Test. Ashwin scored 56 in his only innings, which has helped him move up five places to 46th.

With the ball, Ashwin returned figures of two for 26 and five for 61, and though his performance has helped him gain 15 points to reduce the gap with table-topper Dale Steyn to just four points, it has allowed him to move ahead of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan as the new number-one ranked Test all-rounder.

India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has continued to head in the right direction. The 27-year-old, who won the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2008 along with Kohli, had started the series in 30th position. From the New Delhi Test alone, in which Jadeja picked up seven wickets, Jadeja has gained four places to earn a career-best seventh position.

Fast bowler Umesh Yadav has also been rewarded for his figures of two for 32 and three for nine as he has vaulted 13 places to achieve a career-best 32nd position.

The only good news for South Africa is the movement of fast bowler Kyle Abbott, whose five for 40 and one for 47, has allowed him to gain 24 places. He now shares a career-best 43rd position with Sri Lanka’s Shaminda Eranga.

Meanwhile, Australia hosts the West Indies in a three-Test series while New Zealand takes on Sri Lanka in a two-Test series. Both series will start in Hobart and Dunedin, respectively, from Thursday.

Australia currently sits in third position, but will move ahead of second-ranked India if it wins all the three Tests. Similarly, if sixth-ranked New Zealand wins both the Tests, then it will swap places with fifth-ranked England. In the scenario of Sri Lanka winning both the Tests, it will rise to sixth while New Zealand will slip to seventh.

In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, four of the top six Test batsmen will be featuring in the forthcoming Tests with Australia captain Steven Smith sharing number-one position with England’s Joe Root. This means he will have to perform strongly in Hobart, otherwise, he will fall off the top pedestal.

Kane Williamson of New Zealand is fourth, Australia’s David Warner is fifth and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews is sixth. Depending how these batsmen perform, there is likely to be some changes at the top of the tree.

The player rankings will now be updated at the end of Dunedin and Hobart Tests, while the ICC Test Championship will be updated following the Hamilton Test.

Series schedule:

Australia v West Indies

10-14 Dec – 1st Test, Hobart

26-30 Dec – 2nd Test, Melbourne

3-7 Jan – 3rd Test, Sydney

New Zealand v Sri Lanka

10-14 Dec – 1st Test, Dunedin

18-22 Dec – 2nd Test, Hamilton

ICC Test Championship (as on 8 December, before the start of Australia-West Indies and New Zealand-Sri Lanka Test series)

Rank   Team              Points

1          South Africa   114
2          India                110
3          Australia         109
4          Pakistan          106
5          England           99
6          New Zealand   95
7          Sri Lanka        93
8          West Indies     76
9          Bangladesh     47
10        Zimbabwe       5

ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 8 December, after the conclusion of New Delhi Test and before the start of Australia-West Indies and New Zealand-Sri Lanka series)

Batsmen (top 20)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Ave        HS Rating

   1=       ( - )         Steven Smith       Aus        886        55.34    936 v Eng at Lord's 2015

               ( - )         Joe Root           Eng        886        54.90    917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

   3          ( - )         AB de Villiers     SA          881        51.39    935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

   4          ( - )         Kane Williamson NZ          876        48.36    893 v Aus at Perth 2015

   5          ( - )         David Warner     Aus        862        50.48    880 v NZ at Perth 2015

   6          ( - )         Angelo Mathews SL          851        51.43    877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

   7          (+1)       Younus Khan      Pak         826        53.94    880 v SL at Lahore 2009

   8          (-1)        Hashim Amla      SA          810        50.64    907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

   9          ( - )         Alastair Cook      Eng        803        47.47    874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

  10         ( - )         Ross Taylor        NZ          787        46.61    871 v WI at Hamilton 2013

  11         ( - )         Misbah-ul-Haq    Pak         764        48.89    842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014

  12         (+14)     Ajinkya Rahane    Ind         753!      44.97    753 v SA at Delhi 2015

  13         ( - )         Asad Shafiq        Pak         726        43.28    746 v Eng at Dubai 2015

  14         (+2)       Virat Kohli           Ind         725        44.02    784 v NZ at Wellington 2014

  15         (-1)        S.Chanderpaul    WI          720        51.37    901 v NZ at Napier 2008

  16         (-4)        Murali Vijay         Ind         697        41.09    747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015

  17         (-2)        C. Pujara             Ind         696         47.45    851 v SA at Durban 2013

  18         (-2)        Sarfraz Ahmed    Pak         691*     46.28    715 v SL at Galle 2015

  19         (-1)        B. McCullum       NZ          686        38.40    760 v SL at Christchurch 2014

  20         (-1)        Azhar Ali             Pak         673        43.37    753 v SL at Pallekele 2012

 

Bowlers (top 20)

 

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

   1          ( - )         Dale Steyn           SA          875        22.56    909 v WI at Centurion 2014

   2          ( - )         R. Ashwin            Ind         871!      25.39    871 v SA at Delhi 2015

   3=       ( - )         James Anderson   Eng        846        28.96    847 v WI at Barbados 2015

               ( - )         Yasir Shah           Pak         846*!    24.17    846 v Eng at Sharjah 2015

   5          ( - )         Stuart Broad        Eng        840        29.12    852 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

   6          ( - )         Trent Boult           NZ          809        28.12    825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

   7          (+4)       Ravindra Jadeja     Ind         789*!    23.76    789 v SA at Delhi 2015

   8          ( - )         Rangana Herath   SL          751        29.49    851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

   9          (-2)        Vernon Philander   SA          746        22.08    912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

  10         (-1)        Morne Morkel         SA          726        29.30    776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

  11         (-1)        Josh Hazlewood     Aus        708*!    24.16    708 v NZ at Adelaide 2015

  12         ( - )         Mitchell Starc     Aus        692*!    30.58    692 v NZ at Adelaide 2015

  13         ( - )         Saeed Ajmal        Pak         669        28.10    855 v Zim at Harare 2013

  14         ( - )         Tim Southee        NZ          650        32.78    799 v WI at Jamaica 2014

  15         ( - )         Kemar Roach      WI          642        28.21    774 v SA at Centurion 2014

  16         ( - )         D. Prasad             SL          632*!    35.97    632 v WI at Colombo (PSS) 2015

  17         ( - )         Nathan Lyon       Aus        628        34.02    648 v Eng at Melbourne 2013

  18         ( - )         Peter Siddle         Aus        620        30.02    816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013

  19         ( - )         Shakib Al Hasan  Ban        614        33.29    700 v Zim at Khulna 2014

  20         (+1)       Jerome Taylor       WI          583*     32.99    717 v Eng at Jamaica 2009

 

All-rounders (top five)

 

Rank     (+/-)          Player                  Team      Pts         HS Rating

   1          (+1)       R. Ashwin               Ind         406       419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

   2          (-1)       Shakib Al Hasan       Ban          384       419 v Zim at Khulna 2014

   3          ( - )         Stuart Broad            Eng        315       382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

   4          ( - )         Vernon Philander      SA          298*/    376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

   5          ( - )         Mitchell Starc           Aus        260*/*! 260 v NZ at Adelaide 2015

 

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

!indicates career-highest rating