Pakistani leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s eight wickets in the Abu Dhabi Test have helped him retain the 15th place in MRF Tyres ICC Test Bowling Rankings. However, the first test was won by Sri Lanka on Monday, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Shah’s compatriot Mohamad Abbas has gained three slots to reach 42nd position, said an ICC press release issued here.
South Africa batsmen Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar have moved up the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after notching fine centuries in the first Test against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, which their team won by 333 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Amla’s climbed one place into seventh position, while left-handed opener Elgar climbed four places to 12th position in the latest rankings. Captain Faf du Plessis has gained two places to reach 16th position, while Temba Bavuma has moved up three places to reach a career-best 36th position.
Among their bowlers, Kagiso Rabada has moved up one place to fifth position while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s seven wickets in the match have seen him gain five places to reach a career-best 18th position. For Bangladesh, Mominul Haque gained one slot to reach 37th rank, while Mahmudullah has moved up two places to take 52nd position.
Sri Lanka players have also made significant gains with captain Dinesh Chandimal gaining 13 slots to reach 20th position after scores of 155 not out and seven, opener Dimuth Karunaratne moved five places up to 26th place and Dickwella also climbed the charts up to career-best 41st position. Dilruwan Perera (up one place to 26th), Nuwan Pradeep (up one place to 33rd) and Suranga Lakmal (up two places to 36th) are the ones to move northwards among bowlers, while Rangana Herath’s fine effort in the match helped him gain ranking points but did not improve his ranking.
Herath, who achieved the milestone of 400 Test wickets with his 11-wicket match haul in Abu Dhabi, has gained 37 points to reach within six points of third-placed Ravichandran Ashwin of India. Among batsmen, debutant Haris Sohail has entered the rankings at a creditable 71st position with scores of 76 and 34 while opener Shan Masood has gained six places to reach 105th position.
