Sri Lanka batsmen Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando have made major gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after anchoring their side to a memorable eight-wicket win in Port Elizabeth that helped complete a historic 2-0 series triumph.
- Duanne Olivier moves into the top 20 after only 10 Test matches
A series made in heaven – Cricket’s David vs Goliath story
Just a push off Oshada Fernando’s bat to mid-wicket for 1 run. It was a subdued end to what has been a phenomenal…
The unbroken 163-run stand from the pair enabled Sri Lanka to become the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa and they had individual gains too. An unbeaten 84 from Mendis lifted him to 18th among batsmen while Fernando’s 75 not out helped him jump 35 places and reach 65th position in the list after just two Tests.
Niroshan Dickwella is another Sri Lanka batsman to make a notable improvement in the latest rankings update, moving up eight slots to reach 37th place with his first innings knock of 42 while left-handed opener Lahiru Tharimanne finds himself in the top 100.
Among their bowlers, Suranga Lakmal (up three places to 30th) and Vishwa Fernando (up six places to a career-best 43rd) have advanced after taking four wickets each in the second Test while Kasun Rajitha’s five wickets in the match have helped him move up eight places to 51st position.
Photos: Sri Lanka vs South Africa 2nd Test 2019 | Day 3
The bright spot for South Africa is the continued progress of fast bowler Duanne Olivier, who has moved into the top 20 after only 10 Tests. The 26-year-old’s four wickets in the match have helped him gain three slots to reach 19th position in the list, which has two others fast bowlers from his team ahead of him – Kagiso Rabada in third place and Vernon Philander in fourth.
Meanwhile, South Africa have slipped to third place in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, losing five points and finishing at 105 after losing both Tests to their lower-ranked opposition. Sri Lanka remain in sixth place, but have moved up to 93 points.
New Zealand are second with 107 points and will need to win an upcoming three-Test home series against Bangladesh, starting Thursday, in order to retain second place. The predictor function is available here.
Read More: Mendis targets 1000 runs in 2019
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 24 February, after the Port Elizabeth Test)
- Batsmen (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | India | 922 | 53.76 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | K. Williamson | NZ | 897 | 51.44 | 915 v SL at Wellington 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | C. Pujara | India | 881 | 51.18 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 857 | 61.37 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 5= | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 763 | 49.51 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| ( – ) | Henry Nicholls | NZ | 763*! | 43.54 | 763 v SL at Christchurch 2018 | |
| 7 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 756 | 48.2 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 8 | ( – ) | A. Markram | SA | 719* | 43.8 | 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 9 | -1 | Q. de Kock | SA | 718 | 39.31 | 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Faf du Plessis | SA | 702 | 42.95 | 734 v India at Centurion 2018 |
- Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 18 | (+11) | Kusal Mendis | SL | 657 | 36.65 | 693 v Win at St Lucia 2018 |
| 37 | (+8) | N. Dickwella | SL | 564 | 30.11 | 576 v India at Kolkata 2017 |
| 65 | (+35) | O. Fernando | SL | 455*! | 43.66 | 455 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2019 |
| 98 | (+3) | L. Thirimanne | SL | 342 | 22.89 | 386 v India at Colombo (PSS) 2015 |
- Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 878*! | 22.02 | 878 v SL at Canberra 2019 |
| 2 | ( – ) | J. Anderson | Eng | 862 | 26.93 | 903 v India at Lord’s 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | K. Rabada | SA | 851 | 21.77 | 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 4 | ( – ) | V. Philander | SA | 813 | 21.64 | 912 v India at Johannesburg 2013 |
| 5 | ( – ) | R. Jadeja | India | 794 | 23.68 | 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017 |
| 6 | ( – ) | Trent Boult | NZ | 771 | 27.9 | 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015 |
| 7= | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 770* | 27.69 | 778 v Eng at Antigua 2019 |
| ( – ) | M. Abbas | Pak | 770* | 18.86 | 838 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2018 | |
| 9 | ( – ) | Tim Southee | NZ | 767 | 29.93 | 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014 |
| 10 | ( – ) | R. Ashwin | India | 763 | 25.43 | 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016 |
- Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest rating |
| 19 | (+3) | Duanne Olivier | SA | 692*! | 19.25 | 692 v SL at Port Elizabeth 2019 |
| 30= | (+3) | S. Lakmal | SL | 573 | 39.43 | 590 v SA at Galle 2018 |
| 43= | (+6) | V. Fernando | SL | 385*! | 26.26 | 385 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2019 |
| 51 | (+8) | Kasun Rajitha | SL | 326* | 29.56 | 374 v Win at Barbados 2018 |
| 77 | (+19) | D. de Silva | SL | 170*! | 53.6 | 170 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2019 |
- All-rounders (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 439/* | 448 v Eng at Antigua 2019 |
| 2 | ( – ) | S. Al Hasan | Ban | 415 | 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 3 | ( – ) | R. Jadeja | India | 387 | 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 357 | 395 v Win at Lord’s 2017 |
| 5 | ( – ) | V. Philander | SA | 326 | 377 v SL at Galle 2018 |
*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
