Sri Lanka's Mathews rises to 13th in ICC rankings

Dubai, Jan 6 (IANS) The latest ICC Test players’ rankings have changed following the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi. The Test may have ended in a draw but there were a number of performers who were rewarded with jumps.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews, who struck 91 and an unbeaten career-best 157, has moved up 16 places to a best-ever 13th spot in the ICC Test batsmen rankings while Kumar Sangakkara has slid a position to sixth, but remains the highest-ranked batsman from either side.

The other centurions in the Test, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan of Pakistan have also moved up a place each. Misbah, who notched up 135 in the first innings, is now ranked eighth while Younus has moved to ninth following his knock of 136, also in the first innings.

Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath in fourth (down by one) and Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal in fifth spot (down by one) continue to be the highest ranked bowlers for their sides.

Left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan, meanwhile, has continued his impressive rise up the charts and has jumped seven places to a best-ever 21st, following his spells of 5/58 and 3/93.

The player rankings will now be updated after the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai, starting Wednesday.