Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has replaced England speedster James Anderson as the top-ranked Test bowler in the world. The Indian spin bowling all-rounder scalped six wickets in the Men in Blue's commanding win over Australia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi which has helped him get to the top of the ICC Rankings.
Meanwhile, Anderson slipped to the second place after England's 1-run defeat in Wellington in a dramatic Test match.
Ashwin can enjoy a prolonged stay at the top of the rankings with India needing him desperately to well in the ongoing third Test match of the home series against Australia in Indore where the hosts were bundled out for 109 and have struggled to break the partnership between Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne on Day 1 of the Test match.
It is pertinent to note that 36-year-old Ashwin had first reached the top of the ICC bowling rankings in 2015 and has since then reached the top of the rankings several time during his career. More than the number of wickets Ashwin took, it was the impact he had on the Delhi Test match which was significant as he removed the two Australian batters who had looked well on the tour till then- Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in the same over in the first innings. He had then returned to remove Alex Carey.
The Chennai-born Indian star then once again picked three wickets in the second innings as he saw his spin-bowling mate Ravindra Jadeja pick the remaining of the Australian wickets. He is third Number 1 Test bowler in three weeks with Pat Cummins long stay being ended by Anderson and now Ashwin replacing him in the subsequent week. It is the same three players who make the top 3 Test bowlers in the world at the moment but Cummins is not playing the Indore Test match as he has returned to home to be with his ailing mother.
In Cummins' absence, it is Steve Smith who is leading the Australian side.