Ashwin regains number one spot in Test rankings

DUBAI: Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin today reclaimed the number one spot in Test rankings for bowlers following a career-best match haul of 13 for 140 in the third Test against New Zealand in Indore. Ashwin, who was named man of the series after he finished with 27 wickets in a 3-0 sweep by India, now has 220 wickets, the most by any bowler after 39 Tests. Ranked third before the final Test in Indore, Ashwin, who also holds the top position in rankings for all-rounders, has leapfrogged pace bowlers James Anderson and Dale Steyn to attain a career-best rating of 900 points. Ashwin, who finished the 2015 year-end rankings as the number-one bowler and was also at the top briefly in July this year, has joined a select band to have touched a rating of 900 points since 2000, the others being Muttiah Muralitharan, Glenn McGrath, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Shaun Pollock. In the rankings for Test batsmen, India's middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane has attained a career-best sixth rank with scores of 188 and 23 not out. Rahane, whose previous best was eighth in August this year, has gained five slots after starting the match at 11th position. Prolific scorer in the New Zealand series, Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Virat Kohli also moved up the rankings. Pujara's knocks of 41 and 101 not out have helped him move up one place to 14th while Kohli's scores of 211 and 17 at Indore helped him move up four places to 16th position. For New Zealand, opener Martin Guptill has moved up 10 places to 58th with knocks of 72 and 29 while Jimmy Neesham has moved up 12 slots to 70th position. In the all-rounders' list, India's Ravindra Jadeja has reached a career-best joint-third rank. Meanwhile, Pakistan team does not have a chance to reclaim the number-one ranking from India even with a 3-0 win against the West Indies.