South African pace ace Dale Steyn stormed back from a long injury layoff to make mincemeat out of New Zealand and clinch top spot in the International Cricket Council's bowlers' rankings for Test matches. With England pacer James Anderson comfortably perched at second, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dropped to the third spot. In the batting charts, Ajinkya Rahane was the highest-ranked Indian at eighth.
Ashwin was instrumental in India's 2-0 win in the Test series against West Indies, finishing as the Player of the Tournament. Ravindra Jadeja also gave compatriot Ashwin company in the bowling list, clinging on to the eighth spot with 773 points, but has New Zealand's Neil Wagner breathing down his neck at 760 after a good series against the Proteas.
India recently lost the top spot in the team standings after Pakistan drew the four-Test series in England series 2-2. India needed to win the fourth and final Test against the West Indies to keep the top spot, but rain washed away all chances of that possibility.
South Africa also climbed up the team rankings after winning the two-Test match series at home to New Zealand, moving up to the fifth spot. The Kiwis slipped down to seventh.
