Jadeja zips ahead of Ashwin to grab sole top spot in Test bowlers’ rankings

Top-ranked Smith attains career-best rating while Pujara rises to career-high second place

Shakib, Mushfiqur, Handscomb, Raval, Nicholls, Yadav, Maharaj and Mustafizur also achieve career-best rankings.

Ravindra Jadeja has whizzed ahead of India spin-twin Ravichandran Ashwin to take the sole top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after grabbing nine wickets in the drawn third Test against Australia which puts the four-match series interestingly poised at 1-1.



Jadeja, who grabbed five for 124 and four for 52 in Ranchi, has gained seven points after starting joint-first with Ashwin at 892 points. The left-arm spinner has become only the third India player after Ashwin and Bishan Bedi to top the bowling charts on his own.



Jadeja has also closed in on a major landmark as his tally of 899 rating points puts him on the brink of becoming only the second India bowler after Ashwin to touch the 900-point mark. Ashwin, who had a highest rating of 904 points, has slipped 37 points behind Jadeja to 862 points after finishing with two wickets in Ranchi.



The latest rankings, which also take into account the Colombo Test which Bangladesh won by four wickets against Sri Lanka to draw the series 1-1 and the second Test in Wellington which South Africa won by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against New Zealand, also sees quite a few other significant changes.



South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj has risen 15 places to reach a career-best 37th spot after taking eight wickets in Wellington while pace bowlers Umesh Yadav of India (26th) and Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh (47th) have also achieved personal best rankings.



In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, top-ranked Steve Smith has reached a career-high rating of 941 points after scores of 178 not out and 21. The Australia captain's tally is the joint-fifth highest ever along with Peter May. Only Don Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945), Jack Hobbs and Ricky Ponting (942) have achieved higher rating points.

Steve Smith reached a career-high rating of 941 points after scores of 178 not out and 21 in the Ranchi Test

India’s Cheteshwar Pujara too has reason to celebrate as his knock of 202 has helped gain four slots to reach a career-best second ranking. He has replaced New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who is now in fifth place, also slipping behind Joe Root and Virat Kohli.



The Bangladesh pair of Shakib Al Hasan (21st) and Mushfiqur Rahim (28th), Australia’s Peter Handscomb (35th) and New Zealand batsmen Jeet Raval (43rd) and Henry Nicholls (45th) have also achieved career-best rankings.



Shakib, who took six wickets in Colombo, has displaced Ashwin from the top rank in the list of all-rounders after the two players inter-changed positions two times last week.



Meanwhile, the race for the second spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings has become interesting as Australia and South Africa compete ahead of the cut-off date of 1 April, on which India is assured of finishing first and a cash award of $1 million.



Australia will finish second and get a cash award $ 500,000 with at least a draw in the last Test in Dharamsala while South Africa can finish second if Australia loses and South Africa either wins or draws the last match against New Zealand in Hamilton.



The third-placed team on 1 April will receive $ 200,000 while the fourth-placed team, which will be England, will get $ 100,000.



The Test team rankings, unlike the ODI and T20I rankings, are updated after the end of a series. The ICC Test predictor function is available here.



MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 21 March, after the third Test between India and Australia in Ranchi, second Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Colombo and second Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington)



Batsmen (top 20)

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

1 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 941! 60.98 941 v Ind at Ranchi 2017

2 (+4) C. Pujara Ind 861! 51.95 861 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

3 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 848 52.80 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

4 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 826 49.41 895 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017

5 (-3) K. Williamson NZ 823 49.89 893 v Aus at Perth 2015

6 (+1) Azhar Ali Pak 779 47.07 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

7 (+1) Younus Khan Pak 772 53.06 880 v SL at Lahore 2009

8 (-3) David Warner Aus 768 47.71 880 v NZ at Perth 2015

9 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 759 49.57 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

10 (+7) Q. de Kock SA 758* 49.12 769 v SL at Cape Town 2017

11 (-1) AB de Villiers SA 740 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

12 (+1) Jonny Bairstow Eng 731 41.27 759 v Ind at Mohali 2016

13 (-1) U. Khawaja Aus 725 47.94 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017

14 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 720 46.45 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

15 ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 712 47.10 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013

16 (-5) Dean Elgar SA 708 40.65 740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017

17 (-2) A. Rahane Ind 704 45.38 825 v NZ at Indore 2016

18 ( - ) A. Mathews SL 688 46.08 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

19 ( - ) Faf du Plessis SA 678 44.49 710 v WI at Port Elizabeth 2014

20 (+1) K. Brathwaite WI 677! 37.52 677 v Pak at Sharjah 2016

Other selected rankings

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

21 (+5) S. Al Hasan Ban 676! 40.92 676 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2017

24 (+9) Tamim Iqbal Ban 654 39.53 707 v Eng at Old Trafford 2010

28 (+1) M. Rahim Ban 644! 35.48 644 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2017

29 (+5) D. Chandimal SL 638 42.33 692 v Aus at Colombo (SSC) 2016

31 (+4) Murali Vijay Ind 630 40.34 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015

35 (+6) P. Handscomb Aus 609*! 63.44 609 v Ind at Ranchi 2017

43 (+26) Jeet Raval NZ 545*! 40.50 545 v SA at Wellington 2017

45 (+16) Henry Nicholls NZ 536*! 33.72 536 v SA at Wellington 2017

46 (+11) T. Bavuma SA 524* 32.76 563 v Aus at Hobart 2016

51 (+14) W. Saha Ind 498*! 32.73 498 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

Bowlers (top 20)

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

1 ( - ) R. Jadeja Ind 899! 23.21 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

2 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 862 25.29 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

3 (+1) R. Herath SL 854 27.87 867 v Zim at Harare 2016

4 (-1) J. Hazlewood Aus 842 25.05 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

5 (+2) J. Anderson Eng 810 28.50 884 v SL at Durham 2016

6= (+2) Stuart Broad Eng 803 28.54 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

( - ) Dale Steyn SA 803 22.30 909 v WI at Centurion 2014

8 (-3) Kagiso Rabada SA 802* 23.28 821 v SL at Johannesburg 2017

9 ( - ) V. Philander SA 767 21.90 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

10 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 762 28.64 767 v SA at Dunedin 2017

11 ( - ) Mitchell Starc Aus 749 28.35 805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016

12 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 740 28.75 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015

13 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 694 31.55 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014

14 (+1) Morne Morkel SA 675 29.28 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

15 (-1) Dilruwan Perera SL 652* 28.58 674 v Zim at Harare 2016

16 (+1) Yasir Shah Pak 649 31.51 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016

17 (+1) S. Al Hasan Ban 638 33.02 700 v Zim at Khulna 2014

18 (-2) Nathan Lyon Aus 623 33.62 696 v NZ at Wellington 2016

19 ( - ) Wahab Riaz Pak 579*! 34.01 579 v Aus at Sydney 2017

20 ( - ) Ben Stokes Eng 576* 34.46 589 v Ind at Mohali 2016

Other selected rankings

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

26 (+3) Umesh Yadav Ind 526*! 36.92 526 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

37 (+15) K. Maharaj SA 464*! 23.12 464 v NZ at Wellington 2017

47 (+20) M. Rahman Ban 360*! 23.16 360 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2017

All-rounders (top five)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating

1 (+1) S. Al Hasan Ban 431 443 v NZ at Christchurch 2017

2 (-1) R. Ashwin Ind 408 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016

3 ( - ) R. Jadeja Ind 387 407 v Ban at Hyderabad 2017

4 (+1) Ben Stokes Eng 327 /* 351 v Ind at Mohali 2016

5 (-1) Mitchell Starc Aus 325 347 v Ind at Pune 2017

*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



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