Ashwin becomes No.1 ranked Test all rounder

Dubai, Nov 9 (IANS) India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has achieved the No.1 position in the ICC Test all-rounder rankings after a stellar performance in the Kolkata match against the West Indies which India won by an innings and 51 runs.

Ashwin scored 124, his second century, and recorded match figures of 5-98 from 40 overs with 11 maidens. With his performance, he not only improved his batting and bowling rankings but also leapfrogged Shakib Al Hasan and Jacques Kallis into the top spot in the all-rounders’ list.

Ashwin has earned 81 points and leads Shakib by 43.

In the Test batsmen rankings, Ashwin has moved up 18 places to 45th position while in the bowlers rankings, the 27-year-old off-spinner has gained two places and is now sitting in sixth.

Middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Mohammed Shami, who made their debuts in the same Test, have made impressive entries into the rankings.

Sharma, who became the 14th India batsman to score a century on debut, has broken into the rankings in the 63rd spot while Shami’s match figures of 9-118 — the most by an India fast bowler on debut — has helped him enter in 53rd place in the bowlers rankings.

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar also improved on his ranking. His two wickets have helped him move into 87th place (up by 13).

The batting chart continues to be headed by AB de Villiers of South Africa while his teammate Dale Steyn is the No.1 ranked bowler.

The rankings will next be updated at the end of the Mumbai Test which starts Nov 14.