Sangakkara returns to top spot in ICC Test Players Rankings for Batsmen

Sri Lanka's former skipper Kumar Sangakkara returned to the top of the Reliance ICC Test Players Rankings following the conclusion of the second Test in Wellington, won by hosts New Zealand by 193 runs.

Despite the 2-0 series loss, Sangakkara's knocks of 203 and five saw him replace South Africa's AB de Villiers at the top of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, where the Sri Lankan is one point clear on 909 points.

New Zealand's Kane Williamson jumped seven places to a career-best ranking of seventh following his scores of 69 and 242 not out. Williamson also passed that 3,000 runs mark on achieving his highest Test score to date. He reached 3,034 runs in 39 Tests.

Following South Africa's eight-wicket win over West Indies in Cape Town, Marlon Samuels vaulted seven places to 31 in batting rankings following his knocks of 43 and 74. Dean Elgar moved up two places to a career high 48th spot.

Other upwards movers include Denesh Ramdin, who vaulted up to 59th, and Leon Johnson, who is the highest climber to move up 25 places to career-high 70th spot.

Moreover, following Saturday's drawn Test in Sydney, that saw Australia winning the four-match series 2-0, Australian skipper Steven Smith leap-frogged Angelo Mathews into a career-high fourth spot in the batting table following his scores of 117 and 71.

For India, new Test skipper Virat Kohli moved up three places to 12th, thanks to his scores of 147 and 46, while Australian opener Chris Rogers moved up six places into the 18th spot.

The latest Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings for Batsmen are:

1. Kumar Sangakkara

2. A.B. de Villiers

3. Hashim Amla

4. Steven Smith

5. Angelo Mathews

6. Kane Williamson

7. Shivnarine Chanderpaul

8. Younus Khan

9. David Warner

10.