Kanpur: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will work towards regaining the number-one spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers in the three-match series.
Third-ranked Ashwin, who held the top spot for a fortnight at the end of 2015 and again for a week in July this year, starts the series just 19 points adrift of top-ranked Dale Steyn of South Africa and 11 points behind England’s James Anderson.
Ashwin needs only seven wickets to reach 200 Test wickets and could become the second fastest to the milestone after Australia leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett if he achieves the feat in the series opener at Kanpur, which will be his 37th Test.
Ashwin has also been the top-ranked all-rounder since overtaking Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan in December last year.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja too has an opportunity to gain important points on home pitches to better his eighth position, while for New Zealand, left-arm pace bowler Neil Wagner will be leading a pack of pace bowlers ready to take the challenge of slower pitches in India.
Wagner will be looking to improve his ninth position, which has come in a fruitful year that has seen him take 27 wickets. Tenth-ranked Trent Boult too would be looking to go up the ranks, while Doug Bracewell will be the visiting side’s third-highest ranked bowler in 26th position.
In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is best-ranked from either side in third place with 876 points, just two points behind England’s Joe Root in a list led by Australia captain Steve Smith with 906 points.
India’s Ajinkya Rahane is the other batsman in the series inside the top 10 in eighth position, while experienced New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor (14th) and India captain Virat Kohli (16th) will be aiming to break into the top 10.
India will be targeting to seize back the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings from arch rival Pakistan by winning the series against New Zealand.
A 1-0 or 2-1 win will take India to 111 points but ahead of Pakistan on decimal points while a 2-0 win will see India clearly ahead at 113 points. A 3-0 win will move it to 115 points. New Zealand, which is currently on 95 points, will remain at seventh position with any of these margins with the maximum drop to 91 points in case it loses all three matches.
A 1-1 series draw will result in India dropping to fourth position on 108 points and New Zealand rising to fifth spot on 97 points.
If New Zealand is able to edge India by 1-0 or 2-1, it will move to fifth position at 100 points with India one slot ahead on fourth position with 104 points. New Zealand can overtake India to take fourth position only with an improbable 3-0 win.
If India goes to the top of the rankings, it would be doing so for the third time this year and fourth overall. Apart from its short stay at the top in August, it was also top-ranked in January-February this year. Its longest stint at the number-one position was from November 2009 to August 2011.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 21 September, before the start of the India-New Zealand series)
Rank Team Points
1. Pakistan 111
2. India 110
3. Australia 108
4. England 108
5. South Africa 96
6. Sri Lanka 95
7. New Zealand 95
8. West Indies 67
9. Bangladesh 57
10. Zimbabwe 8
(Developed by David Kendix)
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 21 September, before the start of the India-New Zealand series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 Steve Smith Aus 906 58.55 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015
2 Joe Root Eng 878 54.86 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 K.Williamson NZ 876 51.08 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 Hashim Amla SA 847 51.16 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 Younus Khan Pak 845 53.72 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
6= Adam Voges Aus 802* 72.75 824 v SL at Galle 2016
AB de Villiers SA 802 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
8 Ajinkya Rahane Ind 785! 49.00 785 v WI at Trinidad 2016
9 David Warner Aus 772 48.63 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
10 Alastair Cook Eng 770 47.31 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012
Other selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
14 Ross Taylor NZ 735 47.85 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
16 Virat Kohli Ind 709 45.06 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
20= Murali Vijay Ind 665 40.56 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015
C. Pujara Ind 665 46.83 851 v SA at Durban 2013
30 B.J. Watling NZ 592 39.35 644 v Eng at Headingley 2015
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 Dale Steyn SA 878 22.24 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
2 James Anderson Eng 870 28.28 884 v SL at Durham 2016
3 R.Ashwin Ind 859 25.20 876 v WI at Antigua 2016
4 Stuart Broad Eng 836 28.52 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
5 Rangana Herath SL 831 28.71 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
6 Yasir Shah Pak 806* 27.48 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016
7 Mitchell Starc Aus 792! 27.36 792 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
8 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 773* 23.42 789 v SA at Delhi 2015
9 Neil Wagner NZ 760*! 29.12 760 v SA at Centurion 2016
10 Trent Boult NZ 733 29.32 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
Other selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
20 Ishant Sharma Ind 585 36.71 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
25 M. Shami Ind 524* 34.18 529 v WI at St Lucia 2016
36 Doug Bracewell NZ 406* 38.83 538 v WI at Jamaica 2012
All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 R. Ashwin Ind 439! 439 v WI at Trinidad 2016
2 S. Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3 Moeen Ali Eng 292/*! 292 v Pak at The Oval 2016
4 Mitchell Starc Aus 279! 279 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2016
5 V.Philander SA 264 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
