ICC Rankings: Marnus Labuschagne surpasses Joe Root as No. 1 Test batter; Babar Azam reclaims T20I crown
Following back-to-back sensational performances in the ongoing Ashes series, Australia's middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne has claimed the No.1 spot in ICC Test Player Rankings for the very first time. Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam reclaimed the No.1 spot in ICC Player Rankings for T20Is.
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FollowFollowing back-to-back sensational performances in the ongoing Ashes series, Australia's middle-order batter Marnus Labuschagne has claimed the No.1 spot in ICC Test Player Rankings for the very first time. With a career-best of 912 rating points, the Aussie surpassed England skipper Joe Root (897), who now is at the second spot.
Before the Ashes 2021-22 series, Labuschagne was placed at 4th position. The 27-year-old rose to two spots after scoring a stellar 74 in Australia's win at the Gabba Test, Brisbane, against England. In the second Test match at Adelaide, Labuschagne scored a century (103) and a half-century (51) as the hosts routed England by 275 runs to go 2-0 up in the Test series.
Meanwhile, Labuschagne's teammate Mitchell Starc broke into the Top 10 for Test bowlers after securing figures of 6/80 in the Adelaide Test of the Ashes series, which included a 4-for in the first innings that helped reduce the visitors to 236. Starc (768 ratings) is now at the 9th spot in Test Bowling Rankings, topped by his teammate Pat Cummins (904 ratings). India's Ravichandran Ashwin is placed at the No. 2 spot with 883 ratings. The Australian pacer also proved to be quite handy with the bat in both the innings of the 2nd Test, scoring 39* and 19, which helped him secure a No. 6 spot in the Test all-rounders' ranking. West Indies Jason Holder sits at No.1 spot of Test All-Rounder Rankings with a 382 rating, followed by India's Ravichandran Ashwin (360) at No.2 and Ravindra Jadeja (346) at No.3.
As for Joe Root, the England skipper registered his career-best rating in the ICC rankings for an all-rounder, rising to No. 10 spot (225 ratings) after scoring 86 runs and picking up three wickets in the Adelaide Test.
In the ICC Player Rankings for T20Is, Pakistan captain Babar Azam reclaimed the No.1 spot in the list of batters after just one week of losing it. Babar's 0 and 7 in the first two T20Is against the West Indies saw the Pakistani skipper drop two spots to No.3 in last week's rankings. However, he made a roaring comeback with a brilliant 79 Â in the final T20I that helped Pakistan register an emphatic clean sweep over West Indies. Babar is now tied on top with England's Dawid Malan.
Babar Azam's fellow opener Mohammad Rizwan, who has had a tremendous run in 2021, capped the year by climbing to No.3 in ICC T20I batters' rankings with career-best ratings of 798. Rizwan was the Player of the Match in the final T20I against West Indies, helping Pakistan successfully chase 208 with a brilliant knock of 87 from 45 balls.
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