Dhawan, Rahul gain big in ICC rankings

Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul have attained career-high positions in the latest ICC Test rankings after figuring in an important partnership that helped India defeat Sri Lanka by an innings and 171 runs to complete a 3-0 series whitewash.

Dhawan, who top-scored with 119 in in the third and final Test in Pallekele, has moved up 10 places to the 28th position after India won inside three days on Monday.

This was the Delhi batsman's second century in three Tests. The left-hander finished the Test series with 358 runs and was named player of the series.

Rahul has moved up two positions to equal his career-best ninth position after scoring 85 in the opening stand of 188 that came in under 40 overs. The Karnataka batsman has thus equalled his career-best ninth rank which he had attained last month.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya's 96-ball knock of 108 has seen him gain 45 positions to reach a career-best 68th rank among batsmen.

Among the bowlers, Indian pacer Mohammad Shami has climbed one place to 19th and Umesh Yadav has gained one spot to a career-best 21st position.

There was good news for Chinaman bowlers too as India's Kuldeep Yadav and Sri Lanka's Lakshan Sandakan have made rapid strides. Kuldeep has moved up 29 slots to the 58th place after returning figures of 4/40 and 1/56 in the third Test. Sandakan's haul of 5/132 has helped him gain 16 places to reach the 57th position.

Other Sri Lanka players to move up in the rankings include batsmen Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella. Chandimal has gained two slots to reach 33rd position while Dickwella has gained seven slots to reach a career-best 61st position.

In the list for all-rounders, Jadeja has lost the top slot to Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hassan after missing the Pallekele Test owing to a one-match suspension. Jadeja has slipped one point behind Shakib's tally of 431 points but remains at the top of the bowling rankings.

Top-ranked India and seventh-placed Sri Lanka have retained their positions in the team rankings with India gaining two points to reach 125 points, increasing their lead over seventh placed South Africa to 15 points.

--IANS

ajb/bg