Sangakarra eyes rankings boost in final Test series; Ashwin prominent in bowling and all-rounder rankings
Sri Lanka and India will face off in the first of a three-Test series at Galle on Wednesday with one eye on the ICC Test Team Rankings as both teams aim to improve their respective positions.
Fifth-ranked India knows that a 3-0 victory can propel it up the rankings table, and depending on the final outcome in the ongoing Ashes series, it could even climb to as high as third place, provided Australia defeats England at The Oval. A 2-1 victory would see India gain three points. If seventh-placed Sri Lanka whitewashes India 3-0 then it will gain eight rankings points and could theoretically climb to fifth and India would drop to 89 points, irrespective of the outcome in the final Ashes Test. A 2-1 win for the hosts, meanwhile, would see it gain four rankings points and, thus, overtake Virat Kohli’s side.
The last time India toured Sri Lanka in 2010, the series ended in a 1-1 draw, and in that scenario Sri Lanka would gain a point, while India would remain on 97 points.
The following are the permutations for the forthcoming series:
Sri Lanka (92 pts) v India (97 pts)
- If SL wins 3-0, then SL 100 pts, Ind 89 pts
- If SL wins 2-1, then SL 96 pts, Ind 93 pts
- If Ind wins 3-0, then Ind 104 pts, SL 86 pts
- If Ind wins 2-1, then Ind 100 pts, SL 89 pts
If the series is drawn 1-1, then SL 93 pts, Ind 97 pts
The ICC Test Team Rankings predictor function is available here. The Test rankings table, unlike the ODI & T20I tables, is updated after the series.
Meanwhile, in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, fifth-placed Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakarra goes into his final Test series as the highest ranked batsman on either side on 874 points, seven adrift of South Africa’s Hashim Amla. His skipper Angelo Mathews, who will make his 50th appearance next time out, lies a single place and 14 rankings points further behind, with his opposite number Kohli in 10th position, eight points behind Australia’s Chris Rogers. Kohli is now 180 runs short of the 5,000-run mark in Test cricket.
Other batsmen from either side aiming for upward movements include India trio Murali Vijay (21st), Ajinkya Rahane (22nd) and Cheteshwar Pujara (25th), as will Sri Lanka trio Kaushal Silva (30th), Dimuth Karunaratne (32nd) and Dinesh Chandimal (45th).
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is the highest ranked bowler heading into the series in eighth place on 752 points, 13 points behind Australia’s Mitchell Johnson. Twelfth-placed Ravichandran Ashwin, with 124 wickets in 25 Tests to date, is his side’s leading bowler with Ishant Sharma (21st) looking to break back into the top 20. Other bowlers likely to feature in the series are; Dilruwan Perera (27th), D. Prasad (29th) and Harbhajan Singh (32nd). Umesh Yadav (47th) holds an 18-point advantage over his team-mate Bhuvneshwar Kumar (48th).
Ashwin is also the highest-ranked all-rounder on either side heading into the series, sitting a point behind South Africa’s Vernon Philander in third position, while Mathews is Sri Lanka’s best all-rounder in 15th spot.
Upcoming Test fixtures
Sri Lanka v India
12-16 Aug – 1st Test, Galle
20-24 Aug – 2nd Test, Colombo (PSS)
28 Aug-1 Sept – 3rd Test, Colombo (SSC)
England v Australia
20-24 Aug – 5th Test, The Oval
ICC TEST RANKINGS (as on 10 August, before the start of Sri Lanka-India series)
Rank Team Points
1 South Africa 125
2 Australia 111
3 Pakistan 101
4 New Zealand 99
5 India 97
6 England 97
7 Sri Lanka 92
8 West Indies 81
9 Bangladesh 47
10 Zimbabwe
(Developed by David Kendix)
ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 10 August, before the start of Sri Lanka-India series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest 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 K. Sangakkara SL 874 58.04 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
6 Angelo Mathews SL 860 51.67 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
7 Younus Khan Pak 829 54.07 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
8 K. 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 755 45.73 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
21 Murali Vijay Ind 689! 41.75 689 v Ban at Fatullah 2015
22 Ajinkya Rahane Ind 666*! 47.00 666 v Ban at Fatullah 2015
25 C. Pujara Ind 641 47.11 851 v SA at Durban 2013
30 Kaushal Silva SL 603* 36.22 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
32 D. Karunaratne SL 596*! 36.48 596 v Pak at Pallekele 2015
45 D. Chandimal SL 521* 41.67 571 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
47 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 519*! 41.50 519 v Ban at Fatullah 2015
48 Upul Tharanga SL 516*! 31.80 516 v Pak at Pallekele 2015
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest 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 V. Philander SA 770 22.13 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
7 M. Johnson Aus 765 28.03 849 v Pak at Dubai 2014
8 Rangana Herath SL 752 30.17 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
9 Tim Southee NZ 713 31.63 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014
10 Morne Morkel SA 705 29.66 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
12 R. Ashwin Ind 686 30.20 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
21 Ishant Sharma Ind 567 37.43 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
27 Dilruwan Perera SL 506* 30.90 531 v Pak at Galle 2014
29 D. Prasad SL 465*! 43.25 465 v Pak at Pallekele 2015
32 Harbhajan Singh Ind 454 32.32 765 v NZ at Wellington 2002
47 Umesh Yadav Ind 367* 38.06 412 v Aus at Melbourne 2014
48 B. Kumar Ind 349* 35.00 443 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
All-rounders (top five)
Rank Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 84 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
2 V. Philander SA 337*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
3 R. Ashwin Ind 336*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
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.
