DUBAI: England’s star batter Joe Root has regained the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s Test Rankings, just a week after losing it. His match-winning knocks of 104 and 40 in the third Test against India at Lord’s, which England won by 22 runs, marked the start of his eighth stint at the top. At 34, Root becomes the oldest Test No. 1 batter since Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who was 37 in December 2014.
Root replaced his compatriot Harry Brook at the summit. Brook has now slipped to third, behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
On the Indian front, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and vice-captain Rishabh Pant have each dropped a place to fifth and eighth, respectively. Captain Shubman Gill has also slipped three spots, now ranked ninth.
However, Ravindra Jadeja has climbed five places to 34th after impressive scores of 72 and an unbeaten 61 at Lord’s. KL Rahul, who scored 100 and 39 in the same match, has also jumped five spots to 35th, just behind Jadeja.
England captain Ben Stokes, who was named Player of the Match for his 77 runs and five wickets, has moved up two places to 42nd among batters and one position to 45th among bowlers.
In the bowling rankings, India’s Jasprit Bumrah remains the top-ranked Test bowler, maintaining a dominant 50-point lead over South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada.
Australia’s Scott Boland has surged six places to a career-best sixth. With 62 Test wickets at an astonishing average of 16.53, Boland now joins teammates Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Starc in the top 10 — a level of dominance not seen since England had six bowlers in the top 12 back in 1958.
India’s Washington Sundar has also made notable prog
