Opener Rohit Sharma has been rewarded for his scintillating form in the recently-concluded series against South Africa as he entered the top-10 in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings on Wednesday. Rohit jumped 12 places to take the 10th spot in the latest list. In total, Rohit amassed 529 runs in his debut series as opener with a maiden double hundred in the final Test against South Africa apart from twin hundreds in Visakhapatnam. The run-filled performances also earned him the man of the series award.
Ajinkya Rahane’s knock of 116 in Ranchi has helped him equal his career-high rank of fifth place, achieved earlier in November 2016. He remains the third-best Indian batsman in terms of Test rankings after Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. With Mayank Agarwal in 18th position, India have finished the series with five batsmen in the top 20.
Fast bowlers Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav have ended the series with their highest-ever rating points tally. Shami is on 751 points and only one place below his career-best ranking of 14th achieved in March 2018, while Yadav is on 624 points, three below his best of 21st in July 2016.
For South Africa, George Linde has started in 104th position among batsmen after scores of 37 and 27 and 99th among bowlers after finishing with four wickets.
Earlier, India registered their maiden series clean sweep against South Africa as they defeated the Proteas by an innings and 203 runs in Ranchi. With the win, India continue their perfect record, winning five matches in five games so far.
The Kohli-led side is the only team to cross the 200-run mark in the table with the emphatic victory. With three matches in the series, every game was worth 40 points, and India’s total tally goes to 240 points in five games. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are tied on points, at 2nd and 3rd positions respectively, with 60 points each. It means India have a lead of 180 points over the 2nd best team in the table, as of now.
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