Colombo: Cheteshwar Pujara has broken into the top 20 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time in his career following the conclusion of the Colombo Test, which India won by 117 runs to clinch the series 2-1.
The 27-year-old batsman carried his bat in the first innings and returned unbeaten on 145 not out, his seventh career century, which was the cornerstone of India’s first innings score of 312. For this performance, Pujara has been rewarded with a jump of four places, which puts him in 20th position.
Pujara is now the second India batsman to feature in the top 20, but following Virat Kohli’s drop to 11th (down by one place), the fifth-ranked side has no batsman inside the top 10.
Apart from Pujara, there were few other middle-order batsmen who made significant contributions to India’s cause at the Singhalese Sports Club, which, in turn, have helped them to head in the right direction.
Rohit Sharma has moved up two places to 48th, Ravichandran Ashwin has gained five places and is now in 50th spot, while Amit Mishra, who scored 59 in the first innings and featured in a 104 runs eighth wicket partnership with Pujara, has vaulted 56 places to 91st.
It was a disappointing Test for Sri Lanka batsmen. However, Angelo Mathews has retained his fifth ranking following his seventh career century (110 in the second innings). He is now 11 points adrift of fourth-ranked South Africa captain Hashim Amla.
Meanwhile, there were no changes to the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. However, there were improvements for Ishant Sharma, who reached the 200-wicket mark after claiming match figures of eight for 86. As a result, the fast bowler has moved up three places to 18th.
Amit Mishra’s three for 72 in the match has elevated him two places to a career-high 37th, while Umesh Yadav has also improved his ranking by two places to 42nd.
Sri Lanka trio of Dhammika Prasad (up three places to 22nd), Nuwan Pradeep (up 12 to 57th) and Mathews (up two to 71st) have also all made career-high gains.
ICC TEST RANKINGS (as on 2 September, following Sri Lanka-India series)
Rank Team Points
1 South Africa 125
2 Australia 106
3 England 102
4 Pakistan 101
5 India 100
6 New Zealand 99
7 Sri Lanka 89
8 West Indies 81
9 Bangladesh 47
10 Zimbabwe 5
(Developed by David Kendix)
ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS (as on 2 September, after Sri Lanka-India series)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Steven Smith Aus 910 56.27 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015
2 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 890 52.09 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
3 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 889 54.66 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
4 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 881 52.48 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 ( - ) A. Mathews SL 870 52.06 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
6 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 829 54.07 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
7 ( - ) K. Williamson NZ 813 45.70 860 v Eng at Lord's 2015
8 ( - ) David Warner Aus 775 46.78 880 v Ind at Adelaide 2014
9 ( - ) Chris Rogers Aus 761 42.87 793 v Eng at Lord's 2015
10 (+1) S. Chanderpaul WI 735 51.37 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
11 (-1) Virat Kohli Ind 730 45.06 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
20 (+4) C. Pujara Ind 681 49.28 851 v SA at Durban 2013
22 (-3) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 661* 43.64 699 v SL at Colombo (PSS) 2015
28 ( - ) D. Chandimal SL 603* 44.09 646 v Ind at Galle 2015
36 (-4) Kaushal Silva SL 551 33.04 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
38 (-6) D. Karunaratne SL 536 32.58 596 v Pak at Pallekele 2015
48 (+2) Rohit Sharma Ind 507* 37.82 578 v NZ at Wellington 2014
50 (+5) R. Ashwin Ind 457 32.44 527 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
60 (NEW) Kusal Perera SL 431*! 62.50 431 v Ind at Colombo (SSC) 2015
91 (+56) Amit Mishra Ind 275* 23.86 305 v Eng at The Oval 2011
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 905 22.48 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
2 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 835 29.16 852 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 ( - ) Trent Boult NZ 814 27.12 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
4 ( - ) Yasir Shah Pak 810*! 24.81 810 v SL at Pallekele 2015
5 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 807 29.38 847 v WI at Barbados 2015
6 ( - ) M. Johnson Aus 773 27.94 849 v Pak at Dubai 2014
7 ( - ) V. Philander SA 770 22.13 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
8 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 760 28.44 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
9 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 716 30.21 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
10 ( - ) Tim Southee NZ 713 31.63 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
