Jasprit Bumrah first India pacer to top ICC Test Rankings

Jasprit Bumrah. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Jasprit Bumrah has become the first India pacer to top the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings after an outstanding performance in the second match of their ICC World Test Championship series against England in Visakhapatnam.

The 30-year-old’s nine-wicket match haul has helped him leapfrog Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada and Ravichandran Ashwin, making him only the fourth from his country to attain number one position after spinners Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Bishan Singh Bedi.

Bumrah, who was named Player of the Match after helping India level the five-match series with a 106-run victory, ended Ashwin’s 11-month long reign. Bumrah now has a tally of 881 rating points with Ashwin (904) and Jadeja (899) the only India bowlers to have aggregated more rating points. Ashwin and Jadeja also have the unique distinction of being jointly top ranked, in March 2017.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has moved up four places to 45th position. The batting rankings see left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal progress 37 places to 29th after completing a fine double-century in the first innings and Shubman Gill go up 14 places to a career-best 38th after notching a century in the second innings.

England opener Zak Crawley is another player to gain after the Visakhapatnam Test, moving up eight places to a career-best 22nd position after scores of 76 and 73.

Rookie leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed has moved up 14 places to 70th while Tom Hartley, who became just the second England player with at least 50 runs and five wickets in each of his first two Tests, has advanced in both lists – up from 103rd to 95th in the batting rankings and from 63rd to 53rd in the bowling rankings.

In the latest weekly update that also considers performances in the one-off Test between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Colombo, left-arm spinner Prabhath Jayasuriya has moved up to three places to a career-best sixth position after his eight-wicket match haul helped the home side win by 10 wickets.

Asitha Fernando (up seven places to 34th) and Vishwa Fernando (up nine places to 51st) are other Sri Lanka bowlers to move up while Angelo Mathews (up four places to 24th) has advanced in the batting rankings after top-scoring in the match with 141.

From the Afghanistan team, Ibrahim Zadran has moved up 17 places to 54th after a fighting 114 in the second innings while Rahmat Shah (up 16 places to 66th) and Noor Ali Zadran (entered the rankings in 92nd position) are some other notable movements.

In the Men’s ODI Rankings, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa is up one place to third and fast bowler Sean Abbott’s six wickets in the three-match series against the West Indies this past week have lifted him 35 places to joint-33rd position.

West Indies’ left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie has improved his ranking from 61st to 54th after finishing with four wickets in the series.

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