Resilient Khawaja steers Australia to record-breaking draw
sman Khawaja’s seventh century in Test cricket, and his first in Asia, was an awe-inspiring innings for Australia to clinch a draw against Pakistan in the Dubai Test…
Australia opener Usman Khawaja has moved into the top 10 of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time, after a remarkable performance in the first Test in Dubai helped salvage a draw against Pakistan.
The left-handed opener, who struck 85 and 141 to claim the player of the match award on Thursday and advance nine places, had a previous best ranking of 11th in January 2017, when he attained a career-best 747 rating points.
Captain Tim Paine is another Australia batsman to move up as his unbeaten 61 in the second innings has taken him up two slots to 49 in the latest update, which also takes into account the first Test in Rajkot, where India completed their biggest ever victory, defeating the West Indies by an innings and 272 runs.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez has re-entered the rankings at 45th place after marking his return to Test cricket with a century. Asad Shafiq (up five places to 20th), Harris Sohail (up 17 slots to 57th) and Imam-ul-Haq (up 22 places to 88th) are the others to make headway among batsmen while fast bowler Mohammad Abbas has gained eight places to reach a career-best 13th position after finishing with seven wickets in the match.
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Debutants Aaron Finch of Australia and Prithvi Shaw of India have made fine entries into the Test rankings – entering the list of batsmen at 72nd and 73rd positions, respectively. Finch slammed 62 and 49 in Dubai while opener Shaw, who led India to victory in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year in New Zealand, had a fine 134 to show in Rajkot.
India captain Virat Kohli’s century has helped him consolidate his position at the top of the rankings and he has moved to within one point of his highest ratings point of 937 while spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s six wickets in the match, including a haul of five for 57 in the second innings, has lifted him 16 places to 52nd position.
Ravindra Jadeja’s 100 not out has lifted him six places to 51st among batsmen, and with him also claiming four wickets in the match, he has bridged the gap with top-ranked Shakib Al Hasan to three points in the list of all-rounders.
For the West Indies, Roston Chase has moved up four places to 41st position and Kieran Powell has advanced five slots to 54th position.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 12 October, following the Rajkot and Dubai Tests):
BATSMEN (top 20)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | Ind | 936 | 54.66 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 919 | 61.37 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Kane Williamson | NZ | 847 | 50.35 | 893 v Aus at Perth 2015 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 835 | 51.04 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 5 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 812 | 48.2 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 6 | ( – ) | C. Pujara | Ind | 782 | 49.94 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 7 | ( – ) | D. Karunaratne | SL | 754! | 37.28 | 754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018 |
| 8 | ( – ) | D. Chandimal | SL | 733 | 44.96 | 755 v Win at St Lucia 2018 |
| 9 | ( – ) | Dean Elgar | SA | 724 | 41.05 | 784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 10 | (+9) | Usman Khawaja | Aus | 719 | 44.58 | 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017 |
| 11 | (-1) | Aiden Markram | SA | 703* | 47.27 | 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 12 | (-1) | Ross Taylor | NZ | 697 | 47.22 | 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013 |
| 13 | ( – ) | Hashim Amla | SA | 673 | 47.23 | 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013 |
| 14 | (+1) | Faf du Plessis | SA | 665 | 42.33 | 734 v Ind at Centurion 2018 |
| 15 | (-3) | Kraigg Brathwaite | Win | 662 | 37.21 | 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017 |
| 16 | (-2) | Azhar Ali | Pak | 646 | 44.27 | 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016 |
| 17 | (-1) | Kusal Mendis | SL | 641 | 36.78 | 693 v Win at St Lucia 2018 |
| 18 | (-1) | Jonny Bairstow | Eng | 637 | 37.19 | 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017 |
| 19 | (+1) | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 632 | 39.69 | 694 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 20 | (+5) | Asad Shafiq | Pak | 617 | 39.68 | 758 v Eng at Lord’s 2016 |
BOWLERS (top 20)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | James Anderson | Eng | 899 | 26.84 | 903 v Ind at Lord’s 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 882 | 21.71 | 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Vernon Philander | SA | 826 | 21.54 | 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Ravindra Jadeja | Ind | 818 | 23.44 | 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017 |
| 5 | (+1) | Trent Boult | NZ | 795 | 27.84 | 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015 |
| 6 | (-1) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 792* | 23.81 | 800 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 7 | ( – ) | Rangana Herath | SL | 791 | 27.95 | 867 v Zim at Harare 2016 |
| 8 | ( – ) | R. Ashwin | Ind | 779 | 25.45 | 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016 |
| 9 | ( – ) | Neil Wagner | NZ | 765 | 28.26 | 785 v Win at Wellington 2017 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Josh Hazlewood | Aus | 751 | 26.84 | 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017 |
| 11 | ( – ) | Shannon Gabriel | Win | 738 | 30.06 | 757 v Ban at Jamaica 2018 |
| 12 | ( – ) | Stuart Broad | Eng | 734 | 28.92 | 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016 |
| 13= | (+8) | M. Abbas | Pak | 725*! | 16.89 | 725 v Aus at Dubai 2018 |
| ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 725* | 29.35 | 732 v Ban at Jamaica 2018 | |
| 15 | (-1) | Tim Southee | NZ | 720 | 30.82 | 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014 |
| 16 | ( – ) | Nathan Lyon | Aus | 700 | 32.35 | 774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017 |
| 17 | ( – ) | Keshav Maharaj | SA | 692* | 27.65 | 695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017 |
| 18 | (-4) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 690 | 28.61 | 805 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 19 | (+1) | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 665 | 31.87 | 705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 20 | (-1) | Kemar Roach | Win | 661 | 28.31 | 774 v SA at Centurion 2014 |
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 420 | 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Ravindra Jadeja | Ind | 417 | 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Vernon Philander | SA | 370 | 378 v SL at Galle 2018 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 348/* | 355 v Ban at Jamaica 2018 |
| 5 | ( – ) | R. Ashwin | Ind | 340 | 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016 |
* 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.
