Dale Steyn

Calcutta: South Africa speedster Dale Steyn has moved to the top of the ICC Test rankings for bowlers after another skilful display in Ahmedabad in the three-Test series versus India.

The 24-year-old from Phalaborwa has enjoyed a rapid rise in the rankings since his debut against England in Port Elizabeth in 2004. Since then, he has taken 117 wickets in just 41 innings at an average of 21.41, including another eight in Ahmedabad.

Steyn now has 897 points and is level with Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidharan, who has been on top of the bowlers’ list since February 2006, according to an ICC release. Muralidharan has dropped below the 900-mark for the first time since June 2006.

With one more Test left in the current series versus India, Steyn has the opportunity to go on top of the table and become just the 20th bowler in the history of Test cricket to pass the magic 900-point mark.

Other bowlers to have peaked at 897 ratings points include Ray Lindwall of Australia, Jim Laker of England and the West Indies’ Lance Gibbs, putting Steyn in august company.

What makes Steyn stand out from the rest is that he has taken just 22 matches to reach the top. By contrast, it took Shaun Pollock 33 matches and Allan Donald 41.

Australia’s Michael Hussey, who is currently the only batter in the world with more than 900 points, has replaced him. As Hussey is still qualifying for a full rating, his points tally would rise when he takes part in the series versus the West Indies in May.

It is very congested at the top of the batting chart with just 32 points separating Hussey at the top and Mohammed Yousuf of Pakistan in fifth. Ricky Ponting of Australia and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis share the second spot, with Sangakkara fourth.

Kallis will be pushing Hussey all the way in the third and final Test against India in Kanpur and if he can reproduce the sort of performance that saw him score 132 in Ahmedabad, he could even displace him from the top spot.

Kallis’s teammate AB de Villiers achieved a career-best rating following his unbeaten double century against India. The 24-year-old is now in 21st position and would be eyeing a place in the top 20.

Irfan Pathan moved into the top five in the rankings for allrounders after being one of the few players in his team that put up a resistance against the South African onslaught in Ahmedabad.

India must win the third Test against South Africa if they are to avoid losing their second spot to the visitors. If Anil Kumble’s team draw or lose the match, which begins in Kanpur on Friday, they will drop two places to fourth.

TEST RANKINGS

Teams

1. Australia (141); 2. India (111); 3. South Africa (109); 4. England (108); 5. Sri Lanka (106); 6. Pakistan (94); 7. New Zealand (91); 8. West Indies (77); 9. Bangladesh (1).

Batsmen

1. Mike Hussey (Aus, 912); 2. Ricky Ponting (Aus, 899); Jacques Kallis (SA, 899); 4. K.C. Sangakkara (SL, 893); 5. Mohammed Yousuf (Pak, 880); 6. Matthew Hayden (Aus, 860); 7. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI, 810), M. Jayawardene (SL, 810); 9. Younis Khan (Pak, 799); 10. Kevin Pietersen (Eng, 784).

Bowlers

1. Muttiah Muralidharan (SL, 897), Dale Steyn (SA, 897); 3. Stuart Clark (Aus, 829); 4. Brett Lee (Aus, 795); 5. Makhaya Ntini (SA, 789); 6. Anil Kumble (Ind, 715); 7. Chaminda Vaas (SL, 709); 8. Shane Bond (NZ, 688); 9. Shoaib Akhtar (Pak, 684); 10. Ryan Sidebottom (Eng, 665).

Allrounders

1. Jacques Kallis (SA, 517); 2. Daniel Vettori (NZ, 340); 3. Andrew Flintoff (Eng, 320); 4. Chaminda Vaas (SL, 294); 5. Irfan Pathan (Ind, 268).