Rankings: Pujara, Ashwin on the rise
Dubai, Mar 5 : India players have reaped the rewards for an innings and 135 runs win over Australia in the second Test in Hyderabad by making a charge on the latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings, which were released on Tuesday.
The biggest gains have been made by batsman Cheteshwar Pujara and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who have achieved their career-best rankings in batting and bowling respectively.
Pujara, named player of the match for his double-century in the second Test, has jumped 12 places to a career-best 11th position, while Ashwin, who had match figures of six for 104, is now at a best-ever eighth spot, having jumped three positions.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, second-ranked Australia captain Michael Clarke has dropped three ratings points and now trails number-one ranked Hashim Amla by 13 ratings points.
Matthew Wade also moved to 52nd (up by four) and Murali Vijay, the other Test centurion in Hyderabad, has jumped 27 places to 60th.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's fast bowler James Pattinson has broken into the top 20 in 20th position (up by one), while other bowlers to improve their rankings include Harbhajan Singh in 25th (up by one), Ravindra Jadeja in 40th (up by 23) and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in 97th (up by 28).
The bowlers' table is still headed by South Africa's Dale Steyn with his teammate Vernon Philander in second place and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal in third place.
Reliance ICC Test Championship Table and prize money
Apart from the ongoing India-Australia Test series, there are two more series scheduled to be held before the 1 April cut-off date, as the battle for slots on the Reliance ICC Test Championship Table intensifies.
New Zealand hosts England from 6 March in a three-match series in Dunedin, while Bangladesh travels to Galle in Sri Lanka to take on the host in a two-Test series from 8 March.
South Africa has already sealed its position as the number-one ranked Test side at the 1 April cut-off date, which means it has not only retained the Test mace but has also been assured of a reward of US$450,000.
But a further US$750,000 is still up for grabs. This money will be distributed to teams that will finish second (US$350,000), third (US$250,000) and fourth (US$150,000) on the Championship table at the cut-off date.
The increased incentive in the form of prize money was approved by the ICC Board in 2012 and was aimed to promote Test cricket in the period before the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.
The battle for second place is a three-way race, with Australia, England and India having an opportunity to claim the spot in time for the cut-off date. These three sides are separated by 13 ratings points.
If England wins the series against New Zealand by any margin, the second place is its.
However, if New Zealand were to win the series against England by a margin of 1-0 or better, it could open the door for both Australia and India.
India could then claim the second spot if it were to win the remaining two Tests against Australia, but if Michael Clarke's side manages to level the series then it could displace England.
The player rankings will now be updated after the Dunedin and Galle Tests.
Upcoming fixtures
England v New Zealand
1st Test: Dunedin, 6-10 Mar
2nd Test: Wellington, 14-18 Mar
3rd Test: Auckland, 22-26 Mar
Sri Lanka v Bangladesh
1st Test: Galle, 8-12 Mar
2nd Test: Colombo (RPS), 16-20 Mar
India v Australia
3rd Test: Mohali, 14-18 Mar
4th Test: Delhi, 22-26 Mar
Reliance ICC Test Championship table (as on 5 March)
Rank Team Points
1. South Africa 128
2. England 118
3. Australia 117
4. India 105
5. Pakistan 104
6. Sri Lanka 92
7. West Indies 91
8. New Zealand 78
9. Bangladesh 0
Zimbabwe is currently unranked, as it has played insufficient matches. It has 167 points and a rating of 42.
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 5 March after Hyderabad Test)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 903! 52.11 903 v Pak at Centurion 2013
2 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 890 52.97 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
3= ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 879 51.67 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
( - ) AB de Villiers SA 879! 50.50 879 v Pak at Centurion 2013
5 ( - ) K Sangakkara SL 842 55.80 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
6 ( - ) Alastair Cook Eng 836 49.42 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
7 ( - ) Ross Taylor NZ 769 43.57 785 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2012
8 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 759 49.42 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
9 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 756 56.10 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
10 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 748 50.74 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
11 (+12) C Pujara Ind 740*! 67.80 740 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
12 (-1) Azhar Ali Pak 713 42.26 753 v SL at Pallekele 2012
13 (-1) Jonathan Trott Eng 709 49.50 856 v SL at Cardiff 2011
14 (-1) Graeme Smith SA 696 48.62 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
15 (-1) Matt Prior Eng 693 43.19 698 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2012
16 (-1) Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 687 43.19 771 v Eng at Abu Dhabi 2012
17 (-1) Ian Bell Eng 680 46.71 822 v Ind at The Oval 2011
18 ( - ) Marlon Samuels WI 668! 37.36 668 v Ban at Khulna 2012
19= (-2) Sachin Tendulkar Ind 661 54.29 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
( - ) Darren Bravo WI 661* 46.77 709 v Aus at Port-of-Spain 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
22 (-1) Mahendra Dhoni Ind 646 39.91 662 v SA at Kolkata 2010
25 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 623* 41.28 628 v Aus at Chennai 2013
31 (-5) David Warner Aus 596* 42.21 620 v SL at Melbourne 2012
33 (-4) Virender Sehwag Ind 595 49.34 866 v SL at Galle 2010
38 (-1) Shane Watson Aus 527 36.02 729 v Eng at Perth 2010
44 ( - ) Ed Cowan Aus 495* 31.96 507 v SL at Melbourne 2012
52 (+4) Matthew Wade Aus 458* 37.62 465 v SL at Sydney 2013
54 (-5) R Ashwin Ind 454* 40.00 490 v Eng at Nagpur 2012
55 (-5) Phillip Hughes Aus 442 33.25 599 v Eng at Lord's 2009
60 (+27) Murali Vijay Ind 419* 34.43 449 v Aus at Bengaluru 2010
86 (-29) M Henriques Aus 293* 51.33 431 v Ind at Chennai 2013
88 (-2) Harbhajan Singh Ind 284 18.35 364 v WI at Kingston 2011
91 (+1) James Franklin NZ 269 20.71 314 v SL at Wellington 2006
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 905 22.65 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
2 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 890*! 17.13 890 v Pak at Centurion 2013
3 ( - ) Saeed Ajmal Pak 819 27.60 847 v SA at Cape Town 2013
4 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 809 29.95 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
5 ( - ) Peter Siddle Aus 762 29.25 806 v SL at Hobart 2012
6 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 759 30.39 813 v Ind at Edgbaston 2011
7 ( - ) Graeme Swann Eng 755 29.13 858 v Pak at Lord's 2010
8 (+3) R Ashwin Ind 734*! 28.93 734 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
9 (-1) Pragyan Ojha Ind 724* 31.62 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
10 (-1) Morne Morkel SA 715 29.97 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
11 (-1) Ben Hilfenhaus Aus 707* 28.50 757 v WI at Port-of-Spain 2012
12 ( - ) Kemar Roach WI 698* 27.69 712 v NZ at Kingston 2012
13 ( - ) Abdur Rehman Pak 683* 28.40 739 v Eng at Dubai 2012
14 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 657 31.93 783 v WI at Lord's 2012
15 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 641 32.53 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
16 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 612 32.35 752 v SA at Durban 2010
17 ( - ) Steven Finn Eng 611* 28.22 621 v SA at Lord's 2012
18 ( - ) Chris Martin NZ 606 33.81 669 v SA at Hamilton 2012
19 ( - ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 588 30.63 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
20 (+1) James Pattinson Aus 573*! 22.41 573 v Ind at Hyderabad 2013
Selected Rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave HS Ranking
25 (+1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 525 32.37 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
29 (-4) Shane Watson Aus 514* 30.06 633 v SA at Cape Town 2011
34 ( - ) Ishant Sharma Ind 479 38.52 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
40 (+23) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 402*! 23.28 402 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
76 (-1) Michael Clarke Aus 163* 37.43 265 v NZ at Wellington 2005
85 (NEW) Glenn Maxwell Aus 110*! 31.75 110 v Ind at Hyderabad 2013
97 (+28) B Kumar Ind 69*! 37.33 69 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 387 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 374 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
3 ( - ) R Ashwin Ind 333*/*! 333 v Aus at Hyderabad 2013
4 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 312*/*! 312 v Pak at Centurion 2013
5 (+1) Graeme Swann Eng 288 327 v Ban at Chittagong 2010