Ashwin tops allrounder rankings in Tests

R Ashwin's hundred and a match haul of five wickets in the first Test against West Indies has lifted him to the top of the ICC's rankings for Test allrounders, the first time he has reached No. 1. Ashwin took the top spot from Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is 43 points behind the Indian offspinner, while South Africa's Jacques Kallis is third.

Ashwin scored a career-best 124 during the Kolkata Test and was involved in a 280-run stand with Rohit Sharma, the highest seventh-wicket partnership for India in Tests. He followed up his two wickets in the first innings with a haul of 3 for 46 in 19 overs in the second to become only the Indian cricketer to score a century and take five wickets in a Test twice.

His hundred pushed him 18 places up the rankings for Test batsmen to the 45th position. He also moved up to sixth place in the bowler rankings, the only Indian bowler in the top 10.

Ashwin has had a good run in Test cricket in 2013. In the four-Test series against Australia earlier this year, he finished as the leading wicket-taker with 29 wickets at an average of 20.10. He is sixth on the list of leading wicket-takers this year, with 34 wickets from five Tests at an average of 20.02.

In 17 Tests since his debut in November 2011, Ashwin has scored 741 runs at an average of 41.11 and taken 97 wickets at an average of 28.07.