Siraj climbs to career-best 15th in Test rankings after Oval heroics

India pacer Mohammed Siraj climbed to 15th in the ICC Test bowling rankings after his match-winning nine-wicket haul against England. Jaiswal returned to the top 5 in batting, while Pakistan players made significant gains in the T20I rankings.

Hyderabad: Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has surged ahead to reach a career-best 15th position after helping India win the fifth match of their ICC World Test Championship series against England in dramatic fashion at The Oval to draw the series 2-2.

Siraj has shot up 12 slots after his ‘Player of the Match’ effort of nine for 190 that included three of the four wickets to fall on the final day including the last dismissal of Gus Atkinson as India won the Test by six runs – their narrowest margin ever in terms of runs.

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While Siraj improved on the 16th position that he reached in January 2024, his team-mate Prasidh Krishna also attained a career-best 59th position after the two became only the second India pair to take four or more wickets each in both innings of a Test, a feat earlier accomplished by spinners Bishan Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna against Australia in Delhi in 1969.

England fast bowlers Atkinson and Josh Tongue have also attained career-best positions after finishing with eight wickets each in the match. Atkinson is in the top 10 for the first time while Tongue is up 14 places to 46th position.

The latest weekly rankings, that also take into consideration performances in the first Test of the two-match series between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Bulawayo that the visiting side won by nine wickets, New Zealand seam bowler Matt Henry’s nine wickets in the match have helped him attain a career-best fourth position and move above 800 rating points for the first time.

Root firmly on top, Jaiswal back in top 5: In the Test batting rankings, Joe Root has firmed up his position at the top with his third century in as many matches while Harry Brook’s 98-ball 111 has helped him claw back to second position. India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is back to number five after his knock of 118 in the second innings at The Oval. New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell has returned to the top 10 after a score of 80.

Pakistan players prosper in T20I Rankings: The Men’s T20I Player Rankings see Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz (up 24 places to 30th), Saim Ayub (up 25 to joint-37th) and Sahibzada Farhan (up 34 to 63rd) make notable progress after Pakistan won their T20I series against the West Indies 2-1.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Sufiyan Muqeem’s economic spells that saw him return figures of one for 20, one for 19 and one for 20, have helped him progress 69 places to joint-34th position. Mohammad Nawaz, who took three wickets each in the first two matches to lift the Player of the Series awards, has gained 51 places to reach 56th position.