Dubai : England captain Joe Root’s scintillating form in the ongoing Test series against India helped him surge to the second spot in the latest ICC Test batting rankings, released on Wednesday.
Root scored a sublime 180* in the first innings of the second Test match against India at Lord’s and was one of the few bright spots in the hosts’ 151-run defeat.
He was placed at No 5 before the start of the series but two centuries in two matches has brought him within striking distance of Kane Williamson’s top spot. Root, a formerly top-ranked batter in the format, is on 893 rating points, only eight less than Kiwi skipper Williamson.
As per the ICC release, Player of the Match KL Rahul also made massive gains in the batting charts, after helping India to a 151-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series.
The 29-year-old opener, whose career-best is the eighth position he attained in November 2017, has gained 19 slots to reach 37th place with a knock of 129 in the first innings.
In the bowling rankings, James Anderson’s five-wicket haul in the first innings helped him gain one spot to No 6 while other England pace bowler Mark Wood and India’s Mohammad Siraj have made significant gains to reach 37th and 38th positions, respectively.
Wood has gained five slots with five wickets in the match while Siraj’s four wickets in each innings see him gain 18 places.
The latest weekly update, which also includes the nail-biting first Test match between West Indies and Pakistan saw players improve significantly upon their standings.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam gained two slots to rise up to No 6 in the charts after scores of 30 and 55 in the match. Faheem Ashraf and Fawad Alam also rose up to No 48 and 55 respectively in the batting charts.
For the West Indies, who won by one wicket, Jermaine Blackwood has gained nine slots to reach 35th position after getting 22 and 55. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who missed a first-innings century by three runs, has advanced 18 places to 45th.
Jason Holder, after his brilliant all-round display, broke into the top 10 of the bowling rankings, gaining two positions to No 9. He also gained 5 spots in the batting rankings, rising up to 43.
Fast bowler Jayden Seales has soared 39 places to 58th after his eight-wicket match haul that earned him the Player of the Match award while Kemar Roach is another gainer, moving up two places to 11th.
For Pakistan, left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has gained four slots to reach 18th position after taking four wickets in each innings and Faheem is up four places to 71st.
