Wankhede Test: ICC rankings reflect India's shame
Indian players remain solid and are unmoved. Unfortunately, it is on the ICC Test rankings. This of course is with the exception of Cheteshwar Pujara whose ton in the first innings of the Mumbai Test moved up three places to take the 21st spot.
- mid-day.com
- Updated: November 27, 2012 04:46 PM IST
The abject surrender by the Indian cricket team to the visiting Englishmen is reflected in the latest ICC players rankings for Test matches. No Indian batsman or bowler, except for Cheteshwar Pujara has managed to move up in the rankings.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, the only bowler to hold his own among Indians at the Wankhede, manages to retain his number 5 spot among the bowlers.
No Indian batsmen figures in the top 10 list, but there are two Englishmen up there.
Kevin Pietersen joins his captain Alastair Cook (sixth, up by one) in the top 10. Pietersen was at his brilliant best on a Wankhede Stadium turning track and scored one of the finest centuries of his career by slapping 20 fours and four sixes in a 223-ball 186 that laid the foundation of England's series-leveling 10-wicket victory. For this heroic effort, which also earned him the man of the match award, Pietersen earned a jump of six places which has put him in seventh position.
This is Pietersen's highest ranking since February 2009.
Pujara, who struck a double hundred in the Ahmedabad Test and a century in Mumbai, moved up three places to 21st position. He had rocketed up 35 places to the 24th position after the Ahmedabad Test. Sachin Tendulkar is just above him, at 18th, down one place.
Ojha, who had broken into the top 10 thanks to his nine-wicket haul in the first Test against England, managed to hold on to his fifth position in the bowler's chart. Ojha, who has taken 14 wickets from four innings, is placed fifth with 767 rating points in his kitty. Apart from Ojha, no other Indian found a place in the top-10 bowlers chart, which headed by South Africa's Dale Steyn.
England off-spinner Graeme Swann bounced back into the top 10 list after grabbing eight wickets in the second Test against India in Mumbai, which the visitors won by 10 wickets. The crafty spinner jumped six places to not only claim the sixth spot but also became the highest-ranked England bowler ahead of James Anderson (10th).
Swann's spin partner Monty Panesar was in a class of his own while registering match figures of 69-15-210-11 in Mumbai. For this performance, Panesar has been rewarded with a jump of nine places, which has put him in the 29th position.
All Indians in the ICC rankings, be it the batsmen or bowlers have dropped places. Gautam Gambhir though manages to hold on to his 37th position.
Australia captain Michael Clarke, meanwhile is the number-one ranked Test batsmen after producing a spectacular performance in the second match against South Africa, which ended in a thrilling draw in Adelaide on Monday.
The 31-year-old right-hander scored a masterly 230 in the first innings, his fourth double-century of the year, which earned him 33 ratings points and helped him leapfrog Kumar Sangkkara of Sri Lanka and South African duo of Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis into the number-one position.