Sangakkara on the rise in LG ICC Player Rankings

Highest ever rated Sri Lanka batsman now third in batting list; Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim give Tigers reasons to smile; Muralidaran still well clear in bowling list

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara has risen to a career-high third position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.

The stylish left-hander, now playing as a batting specialist after starting his international career as a wicketkeeper-batsman, made an unbeaten 200 in his latest outing, the innings and 90 runs win over Bangladesh in Colombo this week.

And that innings has been enough to lift him above Australia's Michael Hussey and Kevin Pietersen of England with now only Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan and Australia captain Ricky Ponting ahead of him in the list.

Sangakkara can, however, claim to be ahead of Yousuf and Ponting in at least one respect as it was his fifth Test double hundred, eclipsing the four each scored by the two players in front of him in the table.

Australia legend Don Bradman has scored most double hundreds in Tests - 12 - but there are only four other players ahead of Sangakkara's tally - Brian Lara (West Indies, nine), Walter Hammond (England, seven), Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka, six) and Javed Miandad (Pakistan, also six).

India captain Rahul Dravid is level with Sangakkara with five scores of 200 or more in Tests.

Sangakkara already has the highest-ever rating by a Sri Lanka batsman in Test cricket, something supported by his average of 52.17 from 66 matches. No Sri Lanka batsman to have played 10 or more Tests has a better average than that.

His next goals in rating terms will be to close down the lead held by Ponting and Yousuf and also reach the magical 900-point mark, something achieved by only 21 players in the history of the game.

Incidentally, Sangakkara's Test double hundreds have come against four different opponents - Pakistan, Zimbabwe, South Africa (twice) and now Bangladesh - with three made in home matches (two at the Sinhalese Sports Club, both against South Africa, and this latest one at the P.Saravanamuttu Stadium).

His other two double tons were compiled in Lahore (against Pakistan) and Bulawayo (versus Zimbabwe).

Sangakkara's rise is the most notable feat inside the top 20 batting and bowling places of the LG ICC Player Rankings but outside those select groups, Bangladesh captain Mohammed Ashraful has climbed to a career-high listing.

The dashing right-hander, on his first tour in charge of the Tigers, scored a defiant unbeaten 129 spread over more than five hours to delay Sri Lanka's victory celebrations, and that innings has been enough to propel him up 15 spots to 45th position in the batting table.

Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim's innings of 80 - which contributed, along with Ashraful's effort, to Bangladesh's highest-ever Test partnership of 191 - is another man on the rise, although he is still in the foothills of the rankings after climbing 54 places to 102nd place.

An unusually quiet Test match for star spinner Muttiah Muralidaran - he still took five wickets - has meant he has been unable to extend his lead at the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers but he remains well clear of South Africa fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.

Third-placed Anil Kumble of India is some distance behind these two but the leg-spinner can close the gap with some sound performances in the forthcoming Test series against England.

Left-arm swinger Chaminda Vaas, whose four second-innings wickets in the second Test hastened Bangladesh's demise, is the one bowler inside the top 20 to make an upward move, climbing one place to 12th position, overtaking Corey Collymore of the West Indies.

Further down the list, Sri Lanka pace bowler Lasith Malinga is another man heading in the right direction, up one spot to 28th place and overtaking Sreesanth of India in the process.

Vaas, who has been released to return to county cricket for Middlesex in the UK ahead of the final match of the series, has consolidated his fifth place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, a list still headed by Jacques Kallis of South Africa.

The final Test of the three-match series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be played in Kandy starting next Wednesday (11 July). That will be followed by three ODIs, all in Colombo, between 20 and 24 July.

Bangladesh must avoid defeat to ensure its Test rating does not fall to zero on the LG ICC Test Championship table. Victory in that third Test for Sri Lanka would lift its rating to 103 points, just four behind fourth-placed India.