Sangakkara retains top Test batting spot

Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara retained his number one position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after accumulating 490 runs in the series against Pakistan - a feat which earned him the award for Man of the Series.

He now remains 36 points clear of West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had been six ranking points clear of Sangakarra when the current series started. But his performances with the bat against Misbah ul-Haq’s team have again left him tantalisingly close to the magical 900 rankings point mark.

Sangakkara’s career-best 938 ratings points, which he achieved against England in Kandy in 2007, has already put him alongside Sir Garry Sobers in sixth position on the Reliance ICC best-ever Test Championship Rating list, which can be found here.

Sangakkara’s consistency for a prolonged period can be judged by the fact that he hasn’t dropped outside the top 10 after entering the select group in July 2006, following his 287 in a world record 624-run third wicket partnership with Mahela Jayawardena (374) against South Africa in the SSC Test, which the home side won by an innings and 153 runs.

Pakistan’s Asad Shafiq, who scored his second career Test century in Pallekele – 100 not out to follow his first innings 75 – has leapt 12 places up the rankings into 30th spot with a career best ranking of 592 while Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal also made significant strides, jumping eight places to join Darren Sammy as equal 54th.

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Junaid Khan of Pakistan also moved up eight places to equal England’s Monty Panesar is 34th place. Juaid Khan’s 5-70 in Sri Lanka’s first innings guaranteed a career-best points tally of 456. There was a 20 place move by Sri Lanka pace bowler Thisara Perera, who is now in 80th place. This list is still topped by South Africa’s Dale Steyn.

There was no change in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders with this list still topped by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.