Jadeja tops all-rounders' chart in Tests; Gains for Pujara, Rahane

Dubai, Aug 8 - India's Ravindra Jadeja has claimed the top ranking among the all-rounders in Test cricket for the first time, while his teammates Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane jumped to third and fifth positions respectively in the rankings for batsmen, it was announced on Tuesday.

Jadeja's knock of 70 not out and seven wickets in the second Test have seen him edge out Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan to take the top position among all-rounders for the first time, the International Cricket Council (ICC) declared.

Jadeja, who is the top-ranked Test bowler, has also gained nine places to reach 51st rank among batsmen. India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has conceded the second spot to England veteran seamer James Anderson.

India's wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has attained a career-best 44th position after moving up four places.

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Pujara and Rahane have made notable movements after their centuries in the Colombo Test helped India take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series with an innings and 53 runs win over Sri Lanka. Pujara's knock of 133 in his 50th Test has helped him to a career-high 888 points and third position while Rahane has moved from 11th to fifth position with a score of 132. 

Indian pace bowlers Mohammad Shami (up three places to 20th) and Umesh Yadav (up three places to 22nd) have also made notable gains.

For Sri Lanka, Kusal Mendis has moved up 10 places to 19th position after scores of 24 and 110 in the Colombo Test while opener Dimuth Karunaratne has gained 13 slots to reach 24th rank after scores of 25 and 141.

Niroshan Dickwella has moved up 21 slots to a career-best 68th position.

Meanwhile, England all-rounder Moeen Ali has finished the series against South Africa with career-best rankings as a batsman, bowler and all-rounder after another stellar show in the fourth and final Test which his side won by 177 runs on Monday to clinch the series 3-1. 

Ali's scores of 14 and 75 not out have helped him move up three positions back to a career-best 21st position among batsmen, while his seven wickets in the match have enabled him to retain a career-best ranking of 18th among bowlers and fourth in the table for all-rounders, in which he has crossed 400 points for the first time. 

"His rise in the rankings was due to consistent performances as he became the first player to score 250 runs and take 25 wickets in a four-Test series and was named the player of the series along with South Africa's Morne Morkel. Ali had started the series at number 27 among batsmen, 30th among bowlers and sixth in the table for all-rounders, according to an ICC release. 

His teammates Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson too have made significant progress. Bairstow's knocks of 99 and 10 have helped him reach a career-best rank of seventh while Anderson's seven wickets have helped him take second place among bowlers. 

For South Africa, Hashim Amla's knocks of 30 and 83 have helped him move up one slot to ninth position while pace bowler Duanne Olivier's five wickets in the match have taken him up 27 slots up to a career-best 51st position.

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IANS