Seasoned Australia pacer Mitchell Starc has dethroned Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah to become Word No. 1 in Test Cricket. The left-arm quick achieved the feat for the first time in his career following a 10-wicket match haul in MacKay to power Australia to an innings and 51 runs victory over Bangladesh in the second match of the 2-Test series.
Starc returned 6/12 in the first innings and bagged 4/39 in the second to be adjudged the Player of the the Match and Player of the Series. He now leads new Zealand’s Matt Henry and Bumrah at the top of the rankings by 10 rating points.
Starc Overtakes Bumrah
Starc's previous career-best ranking was second. He first reached that mark following the Boxing Day Test last year.
Bumrah's latest stint at No. 1 lasted two months. The fast bowler has spent a combined 697 days at the top, the most by any Indian bowler and the 14th-most in history. Bumrah was ruled out of India's ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka due to an injury.
Bowlers Make Major Moves
England seam bowler Ollie Robinson climbed 15 spots to 11th. Robinson took five for 51 and three for 39 during England's innings-and-103-run win over Pakistan in the first of their three Tests in Leeds, earning the Player of the Match award. His teammate Josh Tongue rose 16 places to 17th after claiming eight wickets at Headingley.
India's left-arm spinner Manav Suthar jumped 28 places to a career-best 48th. He took 10 wickets in Galle during India's 165-run win over Sri Lanka in the first Test. Sri Lankan bowlers Asitha Fernando and Prabath Jayasuriya both rose five places to 15th and 16th, respectively.
Other bowling gainers include spinners Nathan Lyon (up two places to 10th) and Ali Usman (up 30 places to 67th), along with fast bowlers Jofra Archer (up six places to joint-38th), M. Prasidh Krishna (up two places to 53rd) and Shoriful Islam (up 17 places to 57th).
Brook Extends Batting Lead
Harry Brook doubled his lead at the top of the batting rankings. He now holds a 24-point advantage over England teammate Joe Root. Brook top-scored with 90, while Root made 66 in Leeds to maintain the top two positions.
India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant returned to the top 10 for the first time in a year. He rose six places to seventh after scoring 39 and 66.
Other batting gainers include Australia's Cameron Green (up nine places to 21st), Sri Lanka's Dhananjaya de Silva (up two places to 22nd) and Sonal Dinusha (up 49 places to 54th), Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique (up seven places to joint-27th), India's KL Rahul (up five places to 30th) and Devdutt Padikkal, who re-entered the rankings at 59th.
