Dubai :India’s 95-run win over England at Lord’s Monday, only their second at the ‘home of cricket’ in 82 years, has seen their youngsters make noticeable improvements in the ICC Test player rankings. India leads the five-match series 1-0 with the third Test to start in Southampton July 27.
Players to make an upward movement following the historic win include Man of the Match Ishant Sharma, fellow fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane.
In the ICC rankings for Test bowlers, Ishant has returned to the top-20 for the first time in nearly three years. Following his match figures of 7-135, including 7-74 in the second innings, the towering Delhi bowler has jumped three places to 20th.
Ishant was last in the position following the third Test against the West Indies in Mumbai. He now trails off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (11th), the highest-ranked Indian bowler, by 139 points.
The 24-year-old Bhuvneshwar, in his maiden Test at Lord’s, returned with match figures of 47-17-103-6, including 6-82 in the first innings. He has vaulted 12 places to claim 34th position with teammate Ravindra Jadeja in 28th, firmly within his sights.
In the ICC rankings for Test batsmen, Vijay has rocketed 11 places to claim 19th following his contributions of 24 and 95. This is his career-best ranking to date. He is the third Indian batsman behind Cheteshwar Pujara (eighth) and Virat Kohli (14th) to feature inside the top-20.
Rahane, who scored a masterly 103 in the first innings, has gained 11 places on the table and is now sitting in 35th.
