… Hashim Amla shoots up to second place; Harbhajan spins into top 10 bowlers as Shakib edges further up all-rounders’ log
INDIA’S Virender Sehwag has moved to the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after his heroics during the second Test against South Africa in Kolkata.
The opening batsman smashed 165 in the first innings and has gained five places in the latest rankings displacing team-mate Gautam Gambhir at the top. The 31-year-old from New Delhi is now enjoying the highest rating of his illustrious career to date.
The news is good, too, for South Africa’s Hashim Amla, whose two centuries in the match came so close to saving the match for the Proteas. He has gained no fewer than eight places in the latest rankings and now sits in second position, not far behind Sehwag.
India’s other centurions in the match, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, have also made significant gains in the batting rankings.
Off the back of some excellent recent form Tendulkar has moved up a further three places and now sits in equal sixth position while Laxman’s 143 not out has earned him six places, up to 14th spot.
India’s bowlers have also made an impression with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh gaining five places to number seven in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers. Zaheer Khan has maintained his place at number six in the latest chart.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan continues his rise, gaining a further two places to sit in third position on the log.
The 22-year-old scored 87 and 100 in his team’s one-off Test against New Zealand at Hamilton and moves ahead of England’s Graeme Swann and Australia’s Mitchell Johnson in the process. (ICC website)