According to the most recent ICC rankings revealed on Wednesday, Ravichandran Ashwin has ascended to No. 2 in the Test rankings for bowlers after his match-high eight wickets against Australia in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia was bowled out for 91 in their second innings by Ashwin, who claimed 3 for 42 in the first innings and 5 for 37 in the second, giving India an innings victory. This was his 31st five-wicket haul.
India, on the other hand, held onto its No. 2 ranking in the standings. The ICC revealed earlier in the day that India had surpassed Australia to take the top spot in the Test rankings, making them just the second side in history to hold that position across all three formats. Australia was back at the top of their website by nightfall, suggesting that the error may have been a major technological problem. After defeating New Zealand 3-0 at home last month, India became the No. 1 team in ODIs. They previously defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in a rout.
India must defeat Australia in the upcoming Test in New Delhi in order to likely take the lead and increase their chances of making the World Test Championship final in England in June. If Australia is defeated in the current series by a score of 3-1 or 4-0, the team captained by Rohit Sharma will gain a significant advantage.
Individual ranks for Indian athletes also significantly improved. In the Test bowler rankings, Ashwin rose to second place, 21 rating points behind Australia’s Pat Cummins, and made his way back to the top spot for the first time since 2017. He made sure that India completed their surprising triumph before tea on the third day, taking 5/37 in the second innings to go along with 3/42 in the first.
While Jadeja caused havoc on the first day with 5/47, including the valuable wickets of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, while Ashwin stepped up in what ended up being the final session of the Test, the damage was done. Together with Ashwin, the spin twins immediately destroyed Australia’s top seven hitters in the second innings, leaving them reeling at 67/7 before getting all out for just 91 runs. Jadeja then grabbed 2/34.
For his game-changing hundred in Nagpur, India’s captain Rohit Sharma has seen his position in the Men’s Test Batting Rankings jump from 10th to 8th. After Australia’s first innings ended with an all-out score of 177, Rohit entered the crease. With an assured 120, he turned the wicket into something close to a cakewalk and set the tone for the remainder of the game.