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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > India-Sri Lanka Test Series 2005 > India move up in ICC Test rankings 21.18 IST 22nd Dec 2005 By Agencies 
The 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka has taken India to their best ever ranking of two in the latest ICC Test Championship table.It was the first time India have reached that high in the four-and-a-half year history of the official ICC Test Championship race since it was launched in May 2001. Having overtaken England, India are now just 13 points behind Australia and that margin could be cut rapidly over the next two months, the ICC said in a statement. If Ricky Ponting's Australians draw their three-match home series against South Africa then the gap will be just 11 points and if the Proteas win that series it will be reduced to eight or nine points, depending on whether Graeme Smith's side secure a 1-0 or 2-0 success. India also have the chance to claw back some of Australia's lead at the top of the table as they head to Pakistan for a three-Test series of their own in the New Year. In the LG ICC Test Player Rankings the news is just as good for India with Irfan Pathan once again capturing the headlines. The left-hander closed the gap to the top three all-rounders -- Jacques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff and Shaun Pollock. In the batting list India can bask in the continued presence of three of their batsmen in the top ten. Rahul Dravid, who missed the final Test in Ahmedabad through illness, is holding firm in fifth spot, Virender Sehwag -- captain in Dravid's absence -- is seventh and Sachin Tendulkar is ninth. Outside that top ten V.V.S.Laxman's ninth Test hundred has moved him up one place to 22nd, Yuvraj Singh is up 10 places to 62nd and now has his best-ever haul of ranking points and Pathan is 71st, ahead of many specialist batsmen. Anil Kumble, whose five wicket haul helped finish off Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, is ninth in the LG ICC Test Player Rankings for bowlers and Pathan is 10th while Harbhajan Singh's ten-wicket match haul moves him up two places to 14th position. But while India can bask in their new status as the nearest challengers to Australia's supremacy, the situation is not so cheerful for Sri Lanka. Marvan Atapattu's side have slipped one place to seventh in the LG ICC Test Championship table and that has to be a major disappointment for a team that was fourth in the list as recently as July. Sri Lanka have two batsmen inside the top 20 of the LG ICC Test Player Rankings for batsmen with Mahela Jayawardene at 15th (down one) and Kumar Sangakkara in 19th (holding steady). Tillakaratne Dilshan is up eight places to 24th but Thilan Samaraweera is down six spots to 30th and Atapattu is in 33rd position. Sri Lanka's consolation is the continued presence of Muttiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas in the top ten of the bowling list. Muralidaran is third, within touching distance of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, while Vaas, who missed the final Test through illness, is eighth. Down the list Lasith Malinga is up one place to joint 41st, Malinga Bandara moves up 28 places to 69th and Farveez Maharoof rises 17 places to 92nd in the list. in-depth coverage > India-Sri Lanka Test Series 2005 > |
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