Cheteshwar Pujara moves to career-best fifth in ICC Test rankings

India's Test run-machine Cheteshwar Pujara climbed two places to be at career-best fifth spot, while Virat Kohli is static at number 11 in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Monday.

 

Pujara, with career-best 851 points, remained the best-placed Indian batsman in the top-10, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stayed put at the seventh position in the bowlers' chart. Pujara topped the batting charts in the India versus South Africa two-Test series, scoring 280 runs in four innings at a healthy average of 70.

 

Pujara was last month named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year for a rollicking 2012-13 season in Test matches. Pujara (average 66.25) is currently second in the list of all-time Test averages, behind only Sir Don Bradman (average 99.94), for a minimum of 20 innings.

Pujara's rise to No.5 spot was courtesy a drop in the ranking by one spot each by Michael Clarke and Kumar Sangakkara, the highest ranked batsmen from Australia and Sri Lanka, respectively. Kohli has 739 rating points.

In the all-rounder's ranking, Ashwin continued to rule the roost at the top.

South Africa's AB de Villiers leads the Test batsmen table with 912 points followed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul (876) of West Indies and Ross Taylor (871) from New Zealand.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha fell one spot to ninth position in the bowlers' table, led by South Africa's Vernon Philander.

Ojha lost his place to Australian speedster Mitchel Johnson, who had a sensational Ashes series where he claimed 37 wickets in five Tests. Johnson gained three points to jump to 8th in the bowling list. Johnson's teammate Ryan Harris, who took 22 wickets in the Ashes series, jumped to a career-best third.

Philander was followed by his teammate Dale Steyn.

(with PTI inputs)