ICC Test rankings: R Ashwin consolidates 2nd spot, Mayank Agarwal rises to 11th

Dubai: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin consolidated his position at second spot, while his teammate and top-order batter Mayank Agarwal moved up to take 11th position in the updated ICC Test player rankings released on Wednesday.

Ashwin reduced the point gap with the top-ranked bowler Pat Cummins of Australia after picking up four wickets in both the innings of the second Test match against New Zealand, which India won by 372 runs. The off-spinner earned 43 points to sit on second spot with 883 points in the bowler's chart.

The Indian also moved up by one place to take the second position in the all-rounders rankings, while Ravindra Jadeja slipped to fourth place in the table which is led by West Indies' Jason Holder (382).

India top-order batter Mayank Agarwal's Player of the Match performance in the second Test match against New Zealand helped him gain 30 spots to take the 11th position.

Mayank, who scored 150 and 62, is one spot behind his career-best 10th position that he first achieved in November 2019.

Other Indians who made significant gains following the two-match series against New Zealand are batter Shubman Gill (up 21 places to 45th) and fast bowler Mohammad Siraj (up four places to 41st).

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Ajaz Patel, who became the only third bowler to take all ten wickets in an innings, moved up 23 slots to sit on 38th place. The Mumbai-born left-arm spinner picked up 14 wickets in the second Test match between India and New Zealand.

Patel's teammate and batter Daryl Mitchell moved up 26 places to take 78th position in the batting chart.

West Indies Jason Holder moved up one spot to reach 14th in bowlers' rankings, which also includes performances from the Galle Test that Sri Lanka won by 164 runs to complete a 2-0 series victory and remain atop the ICC World Test Championship points table.

Holder's teammates also made gains, with Kraigg Brathwaite (up 10 places to 39th) and Nkrumah Bonner (up 17 places to 42nd) in batting chart.

The one to gain the most after the Galle Test is the Player of the Match Dhananjaya de Silva, who has advanced 12 places to 21st after his unbeaten 155 in the second innings.

Spinners Lasith Embuldeniya and Ramesh Mendis too made substantial gains. Embuldeniya gained five slots to reach 32nd position after finishing with seven wickets in the match, while Mendis progressed 18 places to 39th with an 11-wicket match haul. (UNI)