Sangakkara, Murali top ICC Test rankings
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1171762
PTI
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
DUBAI: Australian duo Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey's mundane form against the West Indies allowed Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara take over as the numero uno Test batsman in the latest ICC rankings.
Though Australia beat the West Indies 2-0, player of the series Shivnarine Chanderpaul, by virtue of the 442 runs he scored at an average of 147.33, has gained three places to be second in the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen -- highest ranking of his career to date.
Meanwhile, it is not the first time in his career that Sangakkara has been top of the pile, having achieved that feat earlier this year. Shortly, he will have another opportunity to impress as Sri Lanka hosts India in a three-Test series during July and August.
Still making his way in Test cricket, 22-year-old Xavier Marshall is the biggest mover of the week, progressing 54 places to 82nd position following his fine knock of 85 in the second innings.
The bowling rankings are still headed by spinner Muttiah Muralitharan making it a batting and bowling double for Sri Lanka, with South Africa's Dale Steyn in second and Australia's Stuart Clark closing the gap in third position.
Dwayne Bravo has also made an impact on the rankings for Test all-rounders, breaking into the top five. He moves up two places to fourth in the list following a good performance in Barbados where he scored 98 runs and took three wickets. He is now just seven ratings points behind England's Andrew Flintoff who lies in third position. The list is headed by Jacques Kallis followed by New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori in second place.
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