Sangakkara closes in on number-one batting spot

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara’s match-winning unbeaten knock of 199 against Pakistan in the first Test in Galle has helped him vault three places to second in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, which were released on Tuesday.

 Sangakkara now trails number-one placed West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul by just six points and can potentially regain the top spot with another solid performance in the second Test, which starts in Colombo on Saturday.

Sangakkara last topped the batting table in November 2011 before slipping down the order in March 2012.

The left-handed batsman was declared man of the match in Galle where Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 209 runs to go 1-0 up in the three-Test series.

The other Sri Lanka centurion in the Galle Test, Tillekeratne Dilshan, has also been rewarded with a jump of eight places. He now sits in 28th position.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena in 13th (up by two), Prasanna Jayawardena in 45th (up by four), Pakistan duo of Asad Shafiq in 38th (up by four) and Adnan Akmal in 75th (up by 13) are some of the other batsmen to make upward movements.

Pakistan’s top-scorer in the second innings, Younus Khan, has slipped a place to fifth. The other Pakistan batsmen to drop in the latest chart are Mohammad Hafeez in 36th (down by five) and Azhar Ali in 19th (down by seven).

The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers is still headed by South Africa’s Dale Steyn with Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan and England’s James Anderson in second and third positions, respectively.

Sri Lanka spinner Suraj Randiv’s match haul of seven for 99 has earned him a jump of 12 places, which put him in 41st spot. Nuwan Kulasekara, who ended with match figures of five for 75, has re-entered the rankings at 43rd place.

The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders is still headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan with South Africa’s Jacques Kallis in second spot.