Wriddhiman Saha, Rohit Sharma and Luke Ronchi move up in Test batsmen’s rankings

Wriddhiman Saha and Rohit Sharma of India, and Luke Ronchi of New Zealand have made notable gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after the second Test in Kolkata which India won by 178 runs to take a winning 2-0 lead and assure itself of the number-one Test team ranking at the end of the three-match series.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Saha’s unbeaten knocks of 54 and 58 not only earned him the player of the match award but has also propelled him 18 places to 56th position in the list of batsmen led by Australia captain Steve Smith.

Sharma, whose crucial second-innings contribution of 82 helped India set a challenging 376-run target for New Zealand, has gained 14 slots to reach 38th rank.

Cheteshwar Pujara is the other India batsman to gain as he has moved up one slot to 15th position after scoring a total of 91 runs in Kolkata, including a first innings knock of 87.

For New Zealand, Ronchi, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman in limited overs cricket who has played both Tests of the series as a specialist batsman, produced knocks of 35 and 32 to gain 12 slots and reach 40th rank.

His compatriot and left-handed opener Tom Latham has gained three places to reach 33rd slot after innings of one and 74.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers led by South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn, India fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s six wickets in the match, including a five for 48 in the first innings, have helped him gain nine slots to reach 26th place.

His fellow pace bowler Mohammad Shami’s two three-wicket hauls have seen him move up two places to 23rd position, while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has gained one slot to reach sixth rank with four wickets in the match.

New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry, playing only his fifth Test match, has gained 16 slots to reach 61st position after grabbing five wickets in the match, while Trent Boult’s five wickets in Kolkata have seen him gain one position to reach ninth rank as he switched positions with compatriot left-arm pace bowler Neil Wagner who slipped from ninth to 10th rank.

Meanwhile, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson have slipped one slot each in the bowlers’ and batsmen’s rankings, respectively.

The pair had risen from third to second positions after the opening Test in Kanpur. However, Ashwin’s four wickets in the Kolkata Test were not enough for him to retain the number-two position, while Williamson’s absence from the match due to illness meant he lost one percentage point from his rating points and, as such, has slipped back to third position.

Ashwin now trails England’s James Anderson by 11 points, while Williamson is eight points behind England’s Joe Root.

The player rankings will now be updated at the conclusion of the Indore Test.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 4 October 2016, after the second Test between India and New Zealand)

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1	Steve Smith	Australia	906
2	Joe Root	England	878
3	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	870
4	Hashim Amla	South Africa	847
5	Younus Khan	Pakistan	845
6	Adam Voges	Australia	802
6	AB de Villiers	South Africa	802
8	David Warner	Australia	772
9	Alastair Cook	England	770
10	Misbah-ul-Haq	Pakistan	764

Other Selected Rankings

11	Ajinkya Rahane	India	761
15	Cheteshwar Pujara	India	708
16	Ross Taylor	New Zealand	692
20	Virat Kohli	India	673
21	Murali Vijay	India	663
33	Tom Latham	New Zealand	583
35	BJ Watling	New Zealand	565
38	Rohit Sharma	India	531

Bowler’s rankings

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1	Dale Steyn	South Africa	878
2	James Anderson	England	870
3	Ravichandran Ashwin	India	859
4	Stuart Broad	England	836
5	Rangana Herath	Sri Lanka	831
6	Ravindra Jadeja	India	809
7	Yasir Shah	Pakistan	806
8	Mitchell Starc	Australia	792
9	Trent Boult	New Zealand	739
10	Neil Wagner	New Zealand	738

Other Selected Rankings

21	Ishant Sharma	India	573
23	Mohammed Shami	India	570
26	Bhuvneshwar Kumar	India	501
61	Matt Henry	New Zealand	255

All-rounders

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1	Ravichandran Ashwin	India	430
2	Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	384
3	Moeen Ali	India	292
4	Ravindra Jadeja	India	286
5	Mitchell Starc	Australia	279