There was good news for several Sri Lanka players in the latest ICC rankings which were released following its memorable 63-run victory over India in the first Test at Galle on Saturday, with career high gains for Dinesh Chandimal and Tharindu Kaushal as Rangana Herath also helped inspire the hosts to an unlikely victory.
Skipper Angelo Mathews has overtaken his team-mate Kumar Sangakarra and, in the process, moved up one place to fifth in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after scores of 64 and 39. Sangakarra, who will make his final appearance for Sri Lanka in the second Test which starts in Colombo on Thursday, now lies nine points behind Mathews on 851 points. Virat Kohli’s first innings score of 103, his 11th Test century, has cemented 10th position and he is now five points clear of Australia’s David Warner.
The highest mover in the batting rankings was wicket-keeper Chandimal who put in a man of the match performance by scoring 59 and 162 not out to vault 22 places to a career-high 23rd. There was also good news for India’s Shikhar Dhawan who has also climbed 15 places to a career-high 32nd after scoring his fourth Test century (134 and 28). In doing so, the Delhi man has become only the third Indian opening batsman – after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid – to score Test centuries in consecutive innings overseas. Lahiru Thirimanne has also moved up four places to 78th.
As a result of some fine performances with the ball from both sides, there was also movement in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. Left-arm spinner Herath has moved up two places to sixth after claiming match figures of seven for 115 runs, his 22nd five-wicket haul in Test cricket, and is now on 771 points, a point clear of South Africa’s Vernon Philander. Herath is now in third place in the all-time wicket-taker list for left-arm spinners on 270 wickets, four clear of Bishan Singh Bedi, with England’s Derek Underwood (297 wickets) in second place and New Zealand great Daniel Vettori (362) leading the list.
Meanwhile, India’s Ravichandran Ashwin has climbed three places to ninth after claiming match figures of 10 for 160, while there were also notable career-high gains for Sri Lanka duo Kaushal (up 21 places to 60th) and Mathews (up three to 73rd).
The top of the all-rounder rankings remain unchanged with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan leading the way on 384 points, however Ashwin has risen one place to second ahead of Philander, and is now 45 points behind Shakib.
Upcoming Test fixtures
Sri Lanka v India
20-24 Aug – 2nd Test, Colombo (PSS)
28 Aug-1 Sept – 3rd Test, Colombo (SSC)
ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS (as on 16 August, after first Test between Sri Lanka-India)
Batsmen
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Joe Root Eng 917! 56.58 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
2 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 890 52.09 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
3 ( – ) Steven Smith Aus 884 54.66 936 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
4 ( – ) Hashim Amla SA 881 52.48 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 (+1) Angelo Mathews SL 860 51.66 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
6 (-1) K. Sangakkara SL 851 57.71 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
7 ( – ) Younus Khan Pak 829 54.07 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
8 ( – ) Kane Williamson NZ 813 45.70 860 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
9 ( – ) Chris Rogers Aus 763 42.86 793 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
10 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 759 45.98 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
22 ( – ) Ajinkya Rahane Ind 649* 44.85 666 v Ban at Fatullah 2015
23 (+22) D. Chandimal SL 646*! 47.86 646 v Ind at Galle 2015
32 (+15) Shikhar Dhawan Ind 593*! 44.53 593 v SL at Galle 2015
34 (-4) Kaushal Silva SL 571* 34.40 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
36 (-4) D. Karunaratne SL 566* 34.65 596 v Pak at Pallekele 2015
78 (+4) L. Thirimanne SL 367 25.52 370 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
Bowlers
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Dale Steyn SA 905 22.48 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
2 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 852! 28.97 852 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
3 ( – ) James Anderson Eng 815 29.38 847 v WI at Barbados 2015
4 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 814 27.12 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
5 ( – ) Yasir Shah Pak 810*! 24.81 810 v SL at Pallekele 2015
6 (+2) Rangana Herath SL 771 29.81 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
7 (-1) V. Philander SA 770 22.13 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
8 (-1) M. Johnson Aus 765 28.03 849 v Pak at Dubai 2014
9 (+3) R. Ashwin Ind 734 29.14 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
10 (-1) Tim Southee NZ 713 31.63 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
Selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge HS Ranking
21 ( – ) Ishant Sharma Ind 555 37.60 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
29 ( – ) D.Prasad SL 461* 43.53 465 v Pak at Pallekele 2015
32 ( – ) Harbhajan Singh Ind 444 32.46 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
60 (+21) T. Kaushal SL 287*! 36.63 287 v Ind at Galle 2015
73 (+3) Angelo Mathews SL 218*! 52.53 218 v Ind at Galle 2015
All-rounders
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Ranking
1 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
2 (+1) R. Ashwin Ind 339*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
3 (-1) V. Philander SA 337*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
4 ( – ) Stuart Broad Eng 315 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
5 ( – ) M. Johnson Aus 269 384 v Eng at Cardiff 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
