Last Update: February 15, 2023, 14:20 IST
Ravichandran Ashwin took five wickets in Australia’s second innings. (AP Photo)
R Ashwin last topped the ICC Test rankings for bowlers in 2017 and now needs just 22 rating points to regain the spot.
Ravichandran was the wrecker-in-chief from Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja India As they combined to condemn Australia, the world’s top-ranked Test team, to an innings defeat in Nagpur last week. His performances are reflected in the latest ICC Test rankings for bowlers in which he has made significant gains.
Ashwin was the top wicket-taker in the competition with match figures of 8/79, which included a five-for in Australia’s second innings – the 31st of his illustrious Test career. He thus moved up to second in the rankings and is now just 21 rating points behind Australia captain and pacer Pat Cummins, who is currently the world’s top-ranked bowler in the format.
Read also: Cheteshwar Pujara met PM Narendra Modi before his 100th test
Jadeja was in excellent touch with both bat and ball, producing a solid all-round performance that belied the fact that the Nagpur Test was his first international match after a long injury lay-off.
It was left-arm spinner Jadeja, whose 5/47 resulted in Australia being bundled out for 177 on the first day of the series as the tourists opted to bat first.
Jadeja then took 2/34 in Australia’s second innings, which ended with only 91 runs to show for inside a session.
The match was also very productive for India’s Test captain Rohit Sharma, who scored the only century of the competition from either side. He scored 120 in India’s 400-all out, which has pushed him from 10th to 8th in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
Read also: ‘McCullum’s century in the first match set the pace of IPL’
Australian openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja failed to get going in either innings.
Warner has scored 11 runs in two innings and has moved from 14th to 20th position as a result, while his opening partner Khawaja is now 10th after scoring 1 and 5.
India’s all-rounder Axar Patel scored 84 runs from 174 balls – the second highest individual score in Tests apart from taking a wicket. The performance has seen him climb to the 7th position in the all-rounder rankings.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has also improved in the rankings for Test batsmen after scoring a brilliant 182 in the first Test against Zimbabwe. Brathwaite has gained four places to reach 21st position.
get the latest cricket news Here