Riding on his match-winning 293 in the third Test against Sri Lanka, Virender Sewhag stormed into the top-five while his opening partner Gautam Gambhir continued to lead the charts in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for Test batsmen.
It is the first time since October 2006 that Sehwag has returned to the top five. From the Mumbai Test alone, the 31-year—-ld from New Delhi has gained 91 points which makes him one of the six batsmen above the 800-point mark.
It has been an outstanding and memorable series for Sehwag who not only scored 491 runs in four innings but also gained 16 places in the batting table after starting the series in 21st position.
Also on the charge in the latest player rankings released on Tuesday are New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor and the West Indies captain Chris Gayle.
Taylor, who scored 30 and 97 in a losing cause to Pakistan in the Wellington Test earlier this week, has vaulted eight places to achieve a career-best ninth position while Gayle, who scored 26 and 165 not out, has jumped six places to share 22nd spot with Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Also moving in the right direction are Indian batsmen Rahul Dravid, 16th (up by two places), and V.V.S. Laxman, 19th (up by one place) while Australia’s vice-captain Michael Clarke, who scored 71 and 61 not out, has also climbed one position to fourth spot.
However, the news is not very good for Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since October 2002. Ponting, who started in ninth position, has slipped three places to 12th spot after scores of 36 and 20 in Adelaide.
The rankings list
1.Gautam Gambhir (India) 877
2.Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka) 836
3.Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) 835
4.Michael Clarke (Australia) 814
5.Mohammed Yousuf (Pakistan) and Virender Sehwag (India) 804
7.Younus Khan (Pakistan) 785
8.Graeme Smith (South Africa) 782
9.Ross Taylor (New Zealand) 775
10.Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) 773