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Dubai: Kumar Sangakkara and R Ashwin grabbed the top spots in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen and Allrounders respectively, the cricket governing body said in a press release on Monday.
Sri Lankan Sangakkara went one place up to displace South African AB de Villiers at the top following his match-winning double ton (221) against Pakistan last week at Galle. This was the third time that the left-hander reached the top of the rankings after December 2007 and November 2012.
Sangakkara, a veteran of 127 Tests and close to 12,000 runs, has now spent a total of 81 Tests and 671 days as the top-ranked Test batsman. ICC Hall of Famer Garry Sobers holds the record for the most Tests spent as No.1 with 189 while Viv Richards is second with 179.
Sri Lanka Test captain Angelo Mathews also broke into the top five for the first time thanks to his 91 and 25 at Galle. Rangana Herath, whose 6 for 48 in the second innings got him the Man-of-the-Match award, jumped up two places from eighth to sixth in the bowers' rankings.
Ashwin, who was left out of India's squad for the first three Test Tests, played at Old Trafford scoring 40 and 46 not out. He bowled 14 overs and returned 14-1-29-0. He displacing South Africa's Vernon Philander at the top. In his last completed Test against Sri Lanka last month, Philander took just two wickets and scored 9 and 27*.
England fast bowler James Anderson, who took five wickets at Old Trafford in the team's innings victory, climbed two places to fifth while his new ball partner Stuart Broad, whose 6 for 25 in the first innings earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, broke into the top ten after a jump of four places. Moeen Ali also jumped four places to 33rd on account of his 4 for 39 in the second innings.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rose two places to 32nd following scores of 71 and 23. England batsman Joe Root reached a career-best 14th spot after a rise of two places. He shared the position with Mahela Jayawardene who retires from international cricket at the end of the ongoing series against Pakistan.
Ian Bell also jumped two places up to 17th. England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler made the biggest jump in the batting rankings following his 70 in the fourth Test. He got up eight places to 55th.
