ICC Test Rankings: Yashasvi Jaiswal breaks into Top 5 Batters; Mohammed Siraj climbs to No. 15 among bowlers – Who gained and who slipped?
India’s superb bowling performance, led by Mohammed Siraj, in the fifth morning of the fifth Test against England at the Kennington Oval, helped them draw the five-match Test series at 2-2. The intense seven weeks gave the fans incredible joy and excitement of superb 25 days of action in the red-ball format between two competitive sides.
It started with the home side taking a lead with the victory at Leeds. However, the Blue Brigade made a sharp comeback in the second fixture at Edgbaston before the Ben Stokes-led side showed dominance in the third Lord’s fixture. The fourth Test ended in a superb drawn result at Old Trafford while India displayed a special performance with both bat and ball at the Oval.
Let’s take a look at how their performance affected the ICC rankings:
India batters enjoy top 10 rankings in Tests after England trip
When India landed in the United Kingdom, many questioned about their batting line-up and some doubted if the young bunch of players could put a huge score on the board in the absence of two retired veterans, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. But the new generation of India’s batting showed fabulous performance.
Thanks to his 118-run knock in 164 balls, with the help of 14 boundaries and two sixes, Yashasvi Jaiswal earned promotion. The Southpaw broke into the top five of the ICC Test batters’ rankings, going up three spots with a rating of 792. He ended the series with 411 runs at an average of 41.10, with two centuries.
Captain Shubman Gill had a tough week at the Oval with 32 runs collectively across two innings. As a result, he got out of the top 10 and finds himself at number 13 currently. The right-handed batter, however, ended the series with 754 runs in 10 innings thanks to four centuries.
Rishabh Pant, who missed the fifth Test with a foot injury, drops to eight. Ravindra Jadeja is now at the 31st position among the Test batters. The veteran had an exceptional trip with the bat, finishing with 516 runs at an average of 86. KL Rajul, who also crossed the 500-run mark, is at 40.
Washington Sundar has gone up to the 61st position by four spots. The left-handed batter nailed a fine knock of 53 runs in 46 deliveries at a strike rate of 115.22 during the second innings.
Among the England batters, Joe Root continues to top the chart with 908 ratings. Meanwhile, Harry Brook gets back to the second position with a trail by 40 rating points.
There is no change among the top five of the Test all-rounders. Jadeja sits at the top with a 100 ratings lead from the second-ranked holder, Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Read More: ICC Rankings: Gill drops to no. 9; Bumrah & Jadeja continue to top bowlers & all-rounders list
India pacers achieve career-best ICC Test ratings
Siraj has achieved his career-best ICC Test ratings after the Oval Test, where he picked nine wickets. He has jumped 12 spots to the 15th position with 674 ratings. The Hyderabad-born is the second-best India bowler on the list after topper Jasprit Bumrah’s 889 ratings.
Siraj ended as the leading wicket-taker of the series. The right-arm pacer picked up 23 wickets in five innings at an average of 32.43, with a couple of five-wicket hauls.
Jadeja, who earned only seven wickets in the entire series, has fallen by three spots to 17. Prasidh Krishna, just like Siraj, has also earned his career-best rating of 368. The Karnataka pacer flew up 25 spots to 59th position, just two spots behind Aakash Deep.
Kuldeep Yadav, despite the desire of the Indian fans and experts, didn’t get a single game in the series. He retained his 28th rank in the red-ball format with 592 ratings.
For the England side, Gus Atkinson is the joint-rank holder in the tenth position. His eight wickets at the Oval on his comeback red-ball fixture increased his ratings to 766. Josh Tongue, on the other hand, went up 14 spots to 46 with career-best ratings of 435. He also picked up five wickets during their second innings’ bowling.
India doesn’t have any international games in August. A few players, after a short break, will return to the Duleep Trophy 2025, starting on August 28 at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. After that, the focus will turn to the two-match Test series against the West Indies at home. The opening game will take place on October 02 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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