After leading England to a comprehensive 227-run victory over India in the first Test at Chepauk, Joe Root attained the third spot in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
Playing his 100th Test, Root slammed 218 to propel the visitors to a massive 578 in the first innings. The England captain also scored a quick-fire 40 in the second essay.
On the other hand, India skipper Virat Kohli slipped to fifth place in the Test batting rankings. Kohli registered the scores 11 and 72 in the two innings in Chennai.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam moved one place and secured sixth place while Cheteshwar Pujara lost one slot to attain seventh position. Henry Nicholls (8th), Ben Stokes (9th) and David Warner (10th) gained a place each in the latest rankings.
For his knocks of 87 and 16, England opener Dom Sibley jumped 11 places and reach 35th position in the batting chart, which is headed by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson followed by Australia’s Steve Smith.
With his swashbuckling 91 in the first innings, Rishabh Pant became the first full-time wicketkeeper from India to reach 700 rating points as he retained 13th spot among batsmen. Shubman Gill has moved seven places to 40th position.
Among the bowlers, James Anderson advanced three places to finish at third place after claiming five wickets in the Chennai Test while spinners Jack Leach and Dominic Bess are both at career-best rating points, moving up to 37th and 41st positions, respectively.
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah have gained one place each and claimed seventh and eighth position, respectively.
Debutant Kyle Mayers, who scripted West Indies’ epic win over Bangladesh in the first Test with knocks of 40 and 210 not out, has entered the rankings in 70th position with 448 rating points. It is the second-best ever on debut after RE Foster, who achieved 449 rating points back in 1903 after scoring 287 on debut for England against Australia in Sydney.
From West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite (up eight places to 53rd) among batsmen and the spin pair of Jomel Warrican (up 14 places to 62nd) and Rahkeem Cornwall (up six places to 65th) have also gained places in the rankings chart.
Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque’s 10th Test century has elevated him eight places to 33rd. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who will miss the second Test due to injury, has moved four slots to reach 30th position among batsmen while off-spinner Mehidy Hasan has progressed from 28th to 24th position.
Pacer Hassan Ali played a vital role as inflicted a 2-0 sweep over South Africa earlier this week. Ali’s 10-wicket haul in the second Test has lifted him a huge 21 places to 32nd position.
Among their batsmen, Mohammad Rizwan has attained a career-best 16th place after scores of 26 and 115 in the Rawalpindi Test while Faheem Ashraf (66th to 47th position) and Fawad Alam (78th to 74th position) too have continued their way up.
For South Africa, opener Aiden Markram has moved from 23rd to 14th position after scoring 32 and 108 while Temba Bavuma is in 49th position from 61st with 44* and 61 in his two innings. Anrich Nortje (up five places to 33rd) and George Linde (up 36 places to 74) have gained slots among bowlers.
(With ANI inputs)
