Dubai: 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.
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.