Ravindra Jadeja pips R Ashwin to stay No.1 in ICC Test Ranking

21 March, Dubai (CRICKETNMORE): Ravindra Jadeja has whizzed ahead of India spin-twin Ravichandran Ashwin to take the sole top spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after grabbing nine wickets in the drawn third Test against Australia which puts the four-match series interestingly poised at 1-1.

Jadeja, who grabbed five for 124 and four for 52 in Ranchi, has gained seven points after starting joint-first with Ashwin at 892 points. The left-arm spinner has become only the third India player after Ashwin and Bishan Bedi to top the bowling charts on his own.

Jadeja has also closed in on a major landmark as his tally of 899 rating points puts him on the brink of becoming only the second India bowler after Ashwin to touch the 900-point mark. Ashwin, who had a highest rating of 904 points, has slipped 37 points behind Jadeja to 862 points after finishing with two wickets in Ranchi.

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The latest rankings, which also take into account the Colombo Test which Bangladesh won by four wickets against Sri Lanka to draw the series 1-1 and the second Test in Wellington which South Africa won by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series against New Zealand, also sees quite a few other significant changes.

South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj has risen 15 places to reach a career-best 37th spot after taking eight wickets in Wellington while pace bowlers Umesh Yadav of India (26th) and Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh (47th) have also achieved personal best rankings.

No.	Bowlers	Ranking Points
1	Ravindra Jadeja (IND)	899
2	Ravichandran Ashwin (IND)	862
3	Rangana Herath (SL)	854
4	Josh Hazlewood (AUS)	842
5	James Anderson (ENG)	810
6	Stuart Broad (ENG)	803
7	Dale Steyn (SA)	803
8	Kagiso Rabada (SA)	802
9	Vernon Philander (SA)	767
10	Neil Wagner (NZ)	762