Sachin Tendulkar

Calcutta: Sachin Tendulkar, after becoming the highest run-getter in Test cricket, has catapulted back among the top 20 Test batsmen in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday. Before the second Test against Australia, he had slipped to 24th spot in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, his lowest position in 15 years. However, the 35-year-old’s heroics in Mohali has seen him break back into the top 20 at 19th place.

It is another reason for the Mumbai man to celebrate after becoming the highest scoring Test batsman in history during that match, overtaking the record of 11,953 runs set by West Indies’ Brian Lara.

Indian southpaw Sourav Ganguly, who hit a century in the first innings of the second Test, improved two places to 23rd, while Virender Sehwag’s good show with the bat saw him move into the top 10.

However, lacklustre performances by Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman saw them lose ground in the latest rankings.

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting, who scored just seven runs in the match, slipped one place to fifth, while teammate Michael Hussey was dethroned from his No.1 perch to third place.

His place was taken by West Indies stalwart and ICC Cricketer of the Year Shivnarine Chanderpaul with Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka moving up to the second spot.

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori’s match-winning innings of 55 not out and 76 in two innings in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong earned him five places and a spot at 31st. Vettori’s recent nine-wicket haul has placed him in 14th position on the bowling ladder, up by seven places, while he holds the second position among allrounders.

Other big movers include Gautam Gambhir, who moved up eight positions to 29th place after his innings of 67 and 104, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni progressed seven places to 37th.

Among bowlers, Harbhajan Singh spun his way into the top 10 list, taking over the reins of India’s highest-ranked bowler from Zaheer Khan, who slipped one place to 12th while Ishant Sharma’s exploits with the new ball shot him eight spots up to 31st position.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s seven-wicket haul againt Australia has earned him a berth at No.50. It was also a productive match for Mitchell Johnson, who gained three places to be 30th on the list.

ICC TEST RANKINGS

Batsmen

1. S.Chanderpaul (WI) 2. K. Sangakkara (SL) 3. Mike Hussey (Aus) 4. Mohd Yousuf (Pak) 5. Ricky Ponting (Aus) 6. M Jayawardene (SL) 7. Kevin Pietersen (Eng) 8. Younis Khan (Pak) 9. Jacques Kallis (SA) 10. Virender Sehwag (Ind).

Bowlers

1. M. Muralidharan (SL) 2. Stuart Clark (Aus) 3. Dale Steyn (SA) 4. Brett Lee (Aus) 5. Makhaya Ntini (SA) 6. Ryan Sidebottom (Eng) 7= Chaminda Vaas (SL), Shoaib Akhtar (Pak) 9. Harbhajan Singh (Ind) 10. Shane Bond (NZ).

Allrounders

1. Jacques Kallis (SA) 2. Daniel Vettori (NZ) 3. Andrew Flintoff (Eng) 4. Dwayne Bravo (WI) 5. Chaminda Vaas (SL).