What’s the Story?
After becoming only the 8th batsman in the history of cricket to score a century in his 100th Test, there was further good news for South Africa’s Hashim Amla as he moved up four places in the ICC Rankings for Test batsmen. He gained four positions to reach the sixth spot in the rankings while his compatriot JP Duminy rose nice places to reach a career high position of 33. South African spearhead Kagiso Rabada became South Africa’s highest ranked fast bowler after his recent success with the Test side.
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Shakib Al Hasan who scored a magnificent double century in the recently concluded Test against New Zealand jumped eight places to reach a career high ranking of 23. New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson reached within two points of third-placed Joe Root after scoring a century in the 2nd innings of the match.
In case you didn't know...
South Africa inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on a hapless Sri Lankan side after defeating them comprehensively in the third and final Test which was held at the Bull Ring in Johannesburg. Bangladesh, on the other hand, tumbled like a deck of cards against New Zealand in the first Test at Wellington as they managed to lose the match by seven wickets despite amassing 595 on the board in the first innings of the match.
The heart of the matter
Latest ICC Rankings for Test batsmen
| Rank | Player | Country |
| 1 | Steve Smith | Australia |
| 2 | Virat Kohli | India |
| 3 | Joe Root | England |
| 4 | Kane Williamson | New Zealand |
| 5 | David Warner | Australia |
| 6 | Hashim Amla | South Africa |
| 7 | Azhar Ali | Pakistan |
| 8 | Younus Khan | Pakistan |
| 9 | Quinton De Kock | South Africa |
| 10 | AB De Villiers | South Africa |
Latest ICC Rankings for Test bowlers
| Rank | Player | Country |
| 1 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India |
| 2 | Ravindra Jadeja | India |
| 3 | Josh Hazlewood | Australia |
| 4 | Rangana Herath | Sri Lanka |
| 5 | Kagiso Rabada | South Africa |
| 6 | Dale Steyn | South Africa |
| 7 | James Anderson | England |
| 8 | Stuart Broad | England |
| 9 | Vernon Philander | South Africa |
| 10 | Mitchell Starc | Australia |
Sportskeeda’s take
After achieving a career high ranking of 23, Shakib Al Hasan will be hoping to further improve his batting performances as his side take on New Zealand in the second Test which begins on January 20th at Christchurch. Similarly, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will be looking to eclipse Joe Root and take the third spot in the rankings.
Rabada, who has been spectacular for South Africa over the past couple of years will look to continue his impressive run and try to achieve the top ranking soon. However, he will have to get past India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to do so.
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