Ashwin takes an upward jump to 18th spot in ICC Test rankings, Virat too moves up to 35th position

Riding high on his success in the series against New Zealand, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday broke into the top 20 of ICC’s Test Rankings for the first time at a career-best 18th spot after guiding the team to a series whitewash over New Zealand at home, says a report in the Deccan Herald, adding that the 25-year-old from Chennai, who took five for 69 in New Zealand’s second innings in the second Test in Bangalore, jumped seven places on the chart.

“The off-spinner finished the two-match Test series with 18 wickets, and gained 26 places on the bowlers’ table through the course of the series, as India defeated New Zealand 2-0. Ashwin, who was named man of the series, also achieved a career-high rating of 591.

Ashwin’s team-mate, Pragyan Ojha, ended with a match haul of seven for 148 and moved up a place to 14th, which is his career-best ranking. Ojha’s overall rating of 675 is also his best-ever rating,” says the report, adding that Indian pace bowlers Zaheer Khan (15th) and Umesh Yadav (48th) slipped a place each.

“The rankings for Test bowlers is still headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn, with teammate Vernon Philander and Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan in second and third positions, respectively,” adds the report.

Virat Kohli made upward movement in the batting chart. Kohli, who scored 103 and 51 not out, has vaulted 12 places to achieve a career-best ranking of 35, says a report in The Hindu, adding that the other Indian batsman to make upward movement is Mahendra Singh Dhoni who moved up two places to 36th. Batsmen losing ground after the Bangalore Test include Sachin Tendulkar in 16th (down by five), Virender Sehwag in 23rd (down by one), Gautam Gambhir in 38th (down by two) and Cheteshwar Pujara in 58th (down by two). Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara remains the top-ranked batsman.