Career best ICC ranking for Dimuth Karunaratne

July 24 (CRICKETNMORE) - Karunaratne scored 53 and 85, and also benefitted from Dinesh Chandimal’s absence as well as below-par performances from Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram to move up three places to a career-best seventh position. Karunaratne now leads Chandimal by 21 points, while he is ahead of ninth-ranked Elgar and 10th-ranked Markram by 30 and 51 points, respectively.

Karunaratne’s opening partner Danushka Gunathilaka, who also scored two half-centuries and was involved in opening partnerships of 116 and 91, has made an impressive gain of 36 places and now occupies 73rd position.

The biggest mover in the latest rankings is South Africa’s middle-order batsman Theunis de Bruyn. Although de Bruyn’s 101 failed to save his side from a 199-run defeat, his maiden Test century in his sixth Test has lifted the 25-year-old from 148th to 105th (up by 43 places).

The batting table is headed by Australia’s Steve Smith, although second-ranked Virat Kohli will be eyeing the number-one spot when he leads India in the five-Test series starting at Edgbaston next week. Kohli is presently 26 points behind Smith, but leads his third-ranked opposite number Joe Root by 48 points.

Video: Chris Gayle took an impossible catch

ICC Media Release