Amla, Elgar move up in Test Rankings

Dubai [UAE]: South Africa batsmen Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar have moved up the ICC Test Player Rankings after notching fine centuries in the first Test against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, which their team won by 333 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Amla’s scores of 137 and 28 have helped him move up one place to seventh position in the latest rankings while left-handed opener Elgar’s innings of 199 and 18 have lifted him four places to 12th position in the latest rankings. Amla has held the top rank in the past while Elgar’s best has been 11th position in March this year. Amla and Elgar are not the only Proteas batsmen to gain in the latest rankings, which also take into account the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, which Sri Lanka won by 21 runs on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Captain Faf du Plessis has gained two places to reach 16th position while Temba Bavuma has moved up three places to reach a career-best 36th position. Among their bowlers, pace bowler Kagiso Rabada has moved up one place to fifth position while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj’s seven wickets in the match have seen him gain five places to reach a career-best 18th position. This is the second-best position by a South Africa spinner after Paul Harris (sixth in December 2009) since their return to Test cricket. For Bangladesh, Mominul Haque has gained one slot to reach 37th rank among batsmen while Mahmudullah has moved up two places to take 52nd position. Sri Lanka players have also made significant gains with captain Dinesh Chandimal gaining 13 slots to reach 20th position after scores of 155 not out and seven, opener Dimuth Karunaratne moving up five places to 26th place and Niroshan Dickwella moving up 20 places to take a career-best 41st position. Dilruwan Perera (up one place to 26th), Nuwan Pradeep (up one place to 33rd) and Suranga Lakmal (up two places to 36th) are the ones to move northwards among their bowlers while Rangana Herath’s fine effort in the match has helped him gain ranking points but did not result in him moving up the table. Herath, who achieved the milestone of 400 Test wickets with his 11-wicket match haul in Abu Dhabi, has gained 37 points to reach within six points of third-placed Ravichandran Ashwin of India. Similarly, Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s eight wickets in the Abu Dhabi Test have helped him only retain 15th place but his 715 rating points are the highest since December 2016. His compatriot Mohamad Abbas has gained three slots to reach 42nd position. Among their batsmen, debutant Haris Sohail has entered the rankings at a creditable 71st position with scores of 76 and 34 while opener Shan Masood has gained six places to reach 105th position. (ANI)