Ashwin regains No. 1 spot for Test bowlers; Kohli, Khawaja gain among batters
Tim Southee, Daryl Mitchell and Temba Bavuma also gained spots as the Ahmedabad, Christchurch and Johannesburg Tests ended
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Mar-2023
Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja both hit centuries in Ahmedabad • Getty Images
R Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Usman Khawaja, Temba Bavuma and Tim Southee were among those to have gained in ICC's Test rankings in their respective categories. The latest changes are after the conclusion of the Ahmedabad Test between India and Australia, the first Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Christchurch, and the second Test between South Africa and West Indies in Johannesburg.
In the bowling charts, Ashwin, the leading wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 25 strikes at 17.28, regained the No. 1 spot, staying clear of second-placed James Anderson by ten points. New Zealand captain Southee, who bagged seven wickets in his side's last-ball win on the final day against Sri Lanka, stepped up six spots to 12th.
Among batters, Kohli broke his Test-century drought with an innings of 186, thus moving up seven places to 13th. Khawaja got 180 in the same match, and gained two places to sit seventh after he topped the series numbers with 333 runs at 47.57, as his team-mates Cameron Green and Travis Head also benefited from good contributions. Green, who hit his maiden Test hundred, skipped 11 spots up to 26th, even as Head solidified his hold at No. 5, as his match-saving 90 in the second innings in Ahmedabad took him to a career-high 853 rating points.
On the other hand, Daryl Mitchell's twin contributions of 102 and 81 in Christchurch helped him move four places to eighth.
Meanwhile, South Africa's new Test captain Bavuma hit a Test century after seven years, as his second-innings 172 fashioned a comfortable win over West Indies. That knock helped him climb 14 steps up to No. 15, while comeback man Aiden Markram - the leading run-getter of the series, where his knocks included a 115 and 96 - gained 11 spots to get to No. 22.
The rankings update also saw allrounders Axar Patel and Kyle Mayers move up the charts. Axar took a step up to No. 4 after contributing 264 runs - including three half-centuries - as he led lower-order rescue acts against Australia in Nagpur and Delhi, apart from bagging three wickets. Mayers sat seventh on the table, after rising three places as a result of taking seven wickets - the joint-most for West Indies - across the two Tests against South Africa, where he averaged an impressive 14.42 with the ball.