VVS Laxman has returned to the top 20 of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after his fighting unconquered century helped India salvage a draw in the second Test against New Zealand in Napier yesterday.
Laxman followed up his 76 in India’s 305 all out in the first innings with an unbeaten 124 as the tourists finished 476-4 after being forced to follow on. Earlier, the Black Caps had declared their first innings at 619-9.
For his excellent performances with the bat, Laxman has been rewarded with a jump of six places and puts him in 15th position, just behind master batsman Sachin Tendulkar who contributed 49 and 64 with the bat.
Opener Gautam Gambhir is the highest-ranked India batsman in fifth place and his knock of 137 in the second innings has not only strengthened his current position but has put him within striking distance of fourth-placed Mahela Jayawardena of Sri Lanka.
While Laxman is the only player in the top 20 to make an upward movement, India’s stand-in captain Virender Sehwag is the only batsman in the top 20 who has slipped down the ladder. The opener has dropped two places to 17th position after scores of 34 and 22.
There is good news for New Zealand as all its three centurions have made movements in the right direction.
Man of the match Jesse Ryder, who scored a career-best 201, has vaulted 12 places to 30th position to become his country’s highest-ranked batsman, Ross Taylor has climbed eight places to 32nd spot after a fine 151 while Brendon McCullum has jumped three places to 34th position after his third Test century.
The table is still headed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies who leads Pakistan captain Younus Khan by a very small margin while Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is in third position.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, India fast bowler Ishant Sharma’s 3-95 has helped him leapfrog Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Pakistan’s Danish Kaneria and England’s Monty Panesar to a career-best 17th spot.
Sri Lanka’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran is the still the number-one ranked bowler with South Africa’s Dale Steyn in second spot and Mitchell Johnson of Australia in third place.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders there has been no change at the top, with South Africa’s Kallis still leading the way.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship table, India will retain its third position behind Australia and South Africa irrespective of how the Wellington Test pans out. If India wins the match and the series 2-0, it will stay on 118 Ratings Points while New Zealand will also stay on 81 Ratings Points. However, if New Zealand turns the tables on India and wins the Test to square the series, India will slip to 115 Ratings Points while New Zealand will rise to 85 Ratings Points.
Reliance Mobile ICC Test Rankings (31 March 2009)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Rating
1 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 886 50.01 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
2 ( - ) Younus Khan Pak 880! 51.80 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
3 ( - ) K.Sangakkara SL 854 54.99 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
4 ( - ) M.Jayawardena SL 821 53.23 854 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
5 ( - ) Gautam Gambhir Ind 812! 52.02 812 v NZ at Napier 2009
6 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 797 51.09 909 v WI at Headingley 2007
7 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 785 56.20 942 v Eng at Adelaide 2006
8 ( - ) Graeme Smith SA 782 50.33 810 v Aus at Melbourne 2008
9 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 776 47.82 825 v SA at Sydney 2009
10 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 755 54.66 935 v NZ at Centurion 2007
11 ( - ) Ashwell Prince SA 742 47.29 756 v Pak at Centurion 2007
12 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 740! 43.92 740 v Aus at Cape Town 2009
13 ( - ) R.Sarwan WI 738 42.57 767 v Eng at Bridgetown 2009
14 ( - ) S.Tendulkar Ind 733 54.75 898 v Zim at Nagpur 2002
15 (+6) VVS Laxman Ind 716 45.41 753 v Aus at Sydney 2004
16 ( - ) Andrew Strauss Eng 707 44.26 769 v SA at Johannesburg 2005
17 (-2) Virender Sehwag Ind 700 50.41 854 v SA at Kolkata 2004
18 (-1) Mike Hussey Aus 696 55.29 921 v WI at Kingston 2008
19 (-1) Simon Katich Aus 692! 43.42 692 v SA at Cape Town 2009
20 (-1) T.Samaraweera SL 687! 51.07 687 v Pak at Lahore 2009
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Rating
1 ( - ) M. Muralidaran SL 855 22.18 920 v Ban at Kandy 2007
2 ( - ) Dale Steyn SA 844 23.70 897 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2008
3 ( - ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 807* 28.01 811 v SA at Durban 2009
4 ( - ) Stuart Clark Aus 760* 22.96 863 v WI at Bridgetown 2008
5 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 741 28.37 863 v Ind at Durban 2006
6 ( - ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 699 30.76 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
7 ( - ) Jerome Taylor WI 670* 34.29 717 v Eng at Kingston 2009
8 ( - ) Paul Harris SA 669*! 32.60 669 v Aus at Cape Town 2009
9 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 664 29.40 800 v Ind at Chennai 2005
10 ( - ) R.Sidebottom Eng 654* 27.70 769 v SA at Lord's 2008
11 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 653 30.81 811 v WI at Antigua 2008
12 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 638 33.25 681 v Aus at Auckland 2000
13 ( - ) Umar Gul Pak 621* 31.34 627 v WI at Karachi 2006
14 ( - ) Zaheer Khan Ind 619 34.40 689 v Pak at Delhi 2007
15= ( - ) James Anderson Eng 609 35.42 622 v Ind at Chennai 2008
( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 609 32.07 810 v Pak at Multan 2005
17 (+3) Ishant Sharma Ind 608*! 31.76 608 v NZ at Napier 2009
18 (-1) Jacques Kallis SA 603 31.08 742 v Eng at Headingley 2003
19 (-1) Danish Kaneria Pak 594 34.87 723 v Eng at Multan 2005
20 (-1) Monty Panesar Eng 585 33.72 721 v WI at Chester-le-St 2007
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Rating
1 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 455 616 v Pak at Durban 2002
2 ( - ) Mitchell Johnson Aus 375*/*! 375 v SA at Cape Town 2009
3 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 363 369 v Ban at Dhaka 2008
4 ( - ) Andrew Flintoff Eng 281 501 v Pak at Multan 2005
5 ( - ) Chris Gayle WI 274 /* 282 v Eng at St John's 2009
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!indicates career-highest rating
Reliance Mobile ICC Test Championship (before the start of New Zealand – India Test series)
Rank Team Rating
1 Australia 128
2 South Africa 119
3 India 118
4 Sri Lanka 108
5 Pakistan 100
6 England 98
7 West Indies 89
8 New Zealand 81
9 Bangladesh 0
(Developed by David Kendix)
For more information on the ICC Player Rankings go to: www.reliancemobileiccrankings.com
For more information on the ICC Test Championship rankings go to:
www.icc-cricket.com
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