Two Indians – Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – are on top of the Test bowling rankings

After a gap of 42 years, two Indians grabbed the first and the second spot in the international Test bowling rankings. In the latest list that was released by the International Cricket Council on Wednesday, Ravichandran Ashwin held his top spot despite taking only a solitary wicket in the fifth Test against England. Ashwin’s spin partner Ravindra Jadeja, who finished with a match haul of 10/154 to propel India to a resounding 4-0 series win, now sits in the second place, just eight points behind the Tamil Nadu off-spinner.

Jadeja’s feats in Chennai helped him amass 66 points and jump five places, and now trails Ashwin by a slender margin of eight points. The last time two Indians hogged the top spots was back in 1974 when spin legends Bishan Singh Bedi and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar were ranked one and two respectively, stated the ICC website.

Batsmen

Karun Nair’s monumental 303 not out saw him leapfrog 122 places in the batting charts to reach 55th in the table. Nair’s Karnataka teammate KL Rahul also soared, securing the 51st spot after missing out on a maiden double-ton by a single run.

Among overseas batsmen, Pakistan batting legend Younis Khan and Azhar Ali have moved to eighth and 16th receptively. Asad Shafiq’s brilliant 137 in the fourth innings against Australia in Brisbane earned him a place in the top 20. Among the Aussie batters, Usman Khawaja’s 74 in the second innings saw him crawl up to 18th in the table.

Bowlers

Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc rose to No. 6, his best showing as a Test bowler after scalping seven wickets in the first Test against Pakistan. Indian pacer Ishant Sharma moved to 23rd while Wahab Riaz was perched on 24th.

Team rankings

India’s unbeaten run in 2016 sees them sitting pretty at the top with 120 points followed by Australia with 105. Pakistan and South Africa are third and fourth in the table, but level on points. The rankings will be subject to a few changes after the ongoing Australia-Pakistan Test series. South Africa take on seventh-placed Sri Lanka at home later in the month.