Pakistan captain Babar Azam attains career-best ranking after a wonderful series against Australia

Pakistan captain Babar Azam continues to reach newer heights in international cricket. He has jumped three spots to fifth place in the latest ICC Men's Test Players rankings for batsmen.

Azam is preceded by Marnus Labuschagne, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson in the rankings. His incredible 196-run effort last week against Australia has helped him reach the top five with 799 ranking points to his name at the moment.

Kane Williamson is placed in fourth place with 844 points to his name.

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Blessed with solid technique, Azam will be seeking to adnace his career tally of 2796 Test runs. He has an average of 45.83 in red-ball cricket. The 27-year-old has played just 40 matches and will look to rise higher in the rankings with more experience. .

Babar Azam's recent excellence

Azam played one of his finest knocks in Pakistan's spirited draw against Australia in the second Test between the two nations. He faced a mammoth 425 deliveries for his 196, which helped the hosts salvage a draw against the might Aussies.

It is the seventh-highest fourth innings score in Test cricket, and the highest score recorded in the final innings against Australia. Azam also registered the highest score by a captain in the fourth innings.

He occupied the crease for 603 minutes, the second-longest duration for a batter in the fourth innings. His 425-ball stay is the longest in terms of deliveries faced by a batter in the fourth innings.

Babar Azam is the fourth-highest run-getter in the ongoing Benaud-Qadir series, averaging 83.75.

Other sharp movers

Australian opener Usman Khawaja has continued his meteoric rise to stardom this year by moving up to the 13th spot in the Test batters rankings. Khawaja has amassed 496 runs at an average of 165.33 in the ongoing series against Pakistan in just five innings.

Babar Azam's teammate Mohammad Rizwan also moved up the rankings to 11th.

In other cricketing series, West Indies captain Kraigg Braithwaite scored 160* and 56* and faced a total of 112 overs against England. He has also made a notable jump in the rankings.