Chandimal and Herath lead the charge as Sri Lanka defeats India in Galle

downloadMathews climbs as India’s Dhawan makes giant stride in batting rankings; Inspired Ashwin and Sri Lanka bowlers rise

 

There was good news for several Sri Lanka players in the latest ICC rankings which were released following its memorable 63-run victory over India in the first Test at Galle on Saturday, with career high gains for Dinesh Chandimal and Tharindu Kaushal as Rangana Herath also helped inspire the hosts to an unlikely victory.

 

Skipper Angelo Mathews has overtaken his team-mate Kumar Sangakarra and, in the process, moved up one place to fifth in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen after scores of 64 and 39. Sangakarra, who will make his final appearance for Sri Lanka in the second Test which starts in Colombo on Thursday, now lies nine points behind Mathews on 851 points. Virat Kohli’s first innings score of 103, his 11th Test century, has cemented 10th position and he is now five points clear of Australia’s David Warner.

 

The highest mover in the batting rankings was wicket-keeper Chandimal who put in a man of the match performance by scoring 59 and 162 not out to vault 22 places to a career-high 23rd. There was also good news for India’s Shikhar Dhawan who has also climbed 15 places to a career-high 32nd after scoring his fourth Test century (134 and 28). In doing so, the Delhi man has become only the third Indian opening batsman – after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid – to score Test centuries in consecutive innings overseas. Lahiru Thirimanne has also moved up four places to 78th.

As a result of some fine performances with the ball from both sides, there was also movement in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. Left-arm spinner Herath has moved up two places to sixth after claiming match figures of seven for 115 runs, his 22ndfive-wicket haul in Test cricket, and is now on 771 points, a point clear of South Africa’s Vernon Philander. Herath is now in third place in the all-time wicket-taker list for left-arm spinners on 270 wickets, four clear of Bishan Singh Bedi, with England’s Derek Underwood (297 wickets) in second place and New Zealand great Daniel Vettori (362) leading the list.

Meanwhile, India’s Ravichandran Ashwin has climbed three places to ninth after claiming match figures of 10 for 160, while there were also notable career-high gains for Sri Lanka duo Kaushal (up 21 places to 60th) and Mathews (up three to 73rd).

 

The top of the all-rounder rankings remain unchanged with Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan leading the way on 384 points, however Ashwin has risen one place to second ahead of Philander, and is now 45 points behind Shakib.

Upcoming Test fixtures

Sri Lanka v India
20-24 Aug – 2nd Test, Colombo (PSS)
28 Aug-1 Sept – 3rd Test, Colombo (SSC)

ICC TEST PLAYER RANKINGS (as on 16 August, after first Test between Sri Lanka-India)

 

Batsmen

 

Rank    (+/-)        Player                Team     Points    Avge      HS Ranking

1          ( – )         Joe Root                              Eng        917!      56.58    917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

2          ( – )         AB de Villiers     SA          890       52.09    935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

3          ( – )         Steven Smith       Aus        884       54.66    936 v Eng at Lord’s 2015

4          ( – )         Hashim Amla      SA          881       52.48    907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

5          (+1)       Angelo Mathews SL          860       51.66    877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014

6          (-1)        K. Sangakkara     SL          851       57.71    938 v Eng at Kandy 2007

7          ( – )         Younus Khan      Pak         829       54.07    880 v SL at Lahore 2009

8          ( – )         Kane Williamson              NZ          813       45.70    860 v Eng at Lord’s 2015

9          ( – )         Chris Rogers       Aus        763       42.86    793 v Eng at Lord’s 2015

10         ( – )         Virat Kohli          Ind         759       45.98    784 v NZ at Wellington 2014

Selected rankings

 

Rank    (+/-)        Player                Team     Points    Avge      HS Ranking

22         ( – )         Ajinkya Rahane  Ind         649*     44.85    666 v Ban at Fatullah 2015

23         (+22)     D. Chandimal      SL          646*!    47.86    646 v Ind at Galle 2015

32         (+15)     Shikhar Dhawan Ind         593*!    44.53    593 v SL at Galle 2015

34         (-4)        Kaushal Silva      SL          571*     34.40    638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015

36         (-4)        D. Karunaratne   SL          566*     34.65    596 v Pak at Pallekele 2015

78         (+4)       L. Thirimanne     SL          367       25.52    370 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015

Bowlers

 

Rank    (+/-)        Player                Team     Points    Avge      HS Ranking

1          ( – )         Dale Steyn           SA          905       22.48    909 v WI at Centurion 2014

2          ( – )         Stuart Broad        Eng        852!      28.97    852 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

3          ( – )         James Anderson Eng        815       29.38    847 v WI at Barbados 2015

4          ( – )         Trent Boult          NZ          814       27.12    825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015

5          ( – )         Yasir Shah           Pak         810*!    24.81    810 v SL at Pallekele 2015

6          (+2)       Rangana Herath  SL          771       29.81    851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014

7          (-1)        V. Philander        SA          770       22.13    912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

8          (-1)        M. Johnson          Aus        765       28.03    849 v Pak at Dubai 2014

9          (+3)       R. Ashwin            Ind         734       29.14    808 v WI at Mumbai 2013

10         (-1)        Tim Southee        NZ          713       31.63    799 v WI at Jamaica 2014

Selected rankings

 

Rank    (+/-)        Player                 Team     Points    Avge      HS Ranking

21         ( – )         Ishant Sharma     Ind         555       37.60    671 v WI at Dominica 2011

29         ( – )         D.Prasad              SL          461*     43.53    465 v Pak at Pallekele 2015

32         ( – )         Harbhajan Singh Ind         444       32.46    765 v NZ at Wellington 2002

60         (+21)     T. Kaushal           SL          287*!    36.63    287 v Ind at Galle 2015

73         (+3)       Angelo Mathews SL          218*!    52.53    218 v Ind at Galle 2015

All-rounders

 

Rank     (+/-)      Player                  Team    Points    HS Ranking

1          ( – )         Shakib Al Hasan Ban        384       419 v Zim at Khulna 2014

2          (+1)       R. Ashwin            Ind         339*/    419 v WI at Mumbai 2013

3          (-1)        V. Philander        SA          337*/    376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014

4          ( – )         Stuart Broad        Eng        315       382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012

5          ( – )         M. Johnson          Aus        269       384 v Eng at Cardiff 2009

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

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