Ashwin rises to World No. 2 in Test ranking after stellar show against Australia

Feb 15, 2023 08:15 PM IST

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Ravichandran Ashwin, following his match-haul of eight wickets against Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has risen to No. 2 in the the Test rankings for bowler as per the latest ICC ranking released on Wednesday.

Ravichandran Ashwin, following his match-haul of eight wickets against Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has risen to No. 2 in the the Test rankings for bowler as per the latest ICC ranking released on Wednesday. Ashwin, who grabbed 3 for 42 in the first innings and 5 for 37 in the next - his 31st five-wicket haul - bowled Australia out for 91 in their second innings to hand India an innings victory.

Nagpur, Feb 11 (ANI): India's Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates the dismissal of Australia's Matt Renshaw during Day three of the 1st Test match between India and Australia, at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, in Nagpur on Saturday. (ANI Photo) (BCCI Twitter)

India, meanwhile, remained at No. 2 ranked team in the standings. Earlier in the day, the ICC showed that India had displaced Australia to reach the pinnacle of Test rankings, making it only the second team in history to be ranked No. 1 in all three formats. However, by evening, Australia was back at the top on their website, indicating that the gaffe may have been a huge technical glitch. India had attained the No.1 ranking in ODIs last month after they beat New Zealand 3-0 at home. This win came after they clean-swept Sri Lanka 3-0.

India will need to beat Australia in the next Test in New Delhi to probably reached the top spot and strengthen their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final in June in England. The Rohit Sharma-led side will take a huge lead over Australia if they beat them 3-1 or 4-0 in the ongoing series.

India's players also gained big in individual rankings. Ashwin climbed to the second spot in the Test bowler rankings, 21 rating points behind Australia captain Pat Cummins and a return to the No.1 ranking for the first time since 2017. He ensured India wrapped up their stunning victory before tea on the third day, as the veteran off-spinner took 5/37 in the second innings to go with 3/42 earlier in the match.

While Ashwin stepped up in what turned out to be the last session of the Test, Jadeja did the damage on the first day with 5/47 including the prized wickets of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Jadeja then took 2/34 in the second innings to partner with Ashwin as the spin twins quickly dismissed Australia's top seven batters and left them reeling at 67/7 on the way to being all out for just 91.

India captain Rohit Sharma has been rewarded for his match-defining ton in Nagpur with a rise from 10th to 8th in the Men's Test Batting Rankings. Rohit came to the crease after Australia were all out for 177 in their first innings, then made the wicket look all but tame with an assured 120 that set the tone for the rest of the match.

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