Azhar descends to 8th position in ICC Rankings

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Azhar Ali who was ranked 6th before, has come down to 8th position in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings announced Tuesday.

Azhar who is the only Pakistani batsman in the top 10 rankings stands on 8th position with 769 points with an average of 46.86, said a press release issued here.

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has finished the series against South Africa with career-best rankings as a batsman, bowler and all- rounder after another stellar show in the fourth and final Test which his side won by 177 runs on Monday to clinch the series 3-1.

Ali's scores of 14 and 75 not out have helped him move up three positions back to a career-best 21st position among batsmen in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings while his seven wickets in the match have enabled him to retain a career-best ranking of 18th among bowlers and fourth in the table for all- rounders, in which he has crossed 400 points for the first time.

His rise in the rankings was due to consistent performances as he became the first player to score 250 runs and take 25 wickets in a four-Test series and was named the player of the series along with South Africa's Morne Morkel. Ali had started the series at number 27 among batsmen, 30th among bowlers and sixth in the table for all- rounders.

His team-mates Jonny Bairstow have moved to career-best rank of seventh and James Anderson to second place among bowlers. For South Africa, Hashim Amla's moved up one slot to ninth position while pace bowler Duanne Olivier have taken him to a career-best 51st position.

Meanwhile, India batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara (third position) and Ajinkya Rahane (fifth position) also moved up in the rankings. Ravindra Jadeja's knock of 70 not out and seven wickets have seen him edge out Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan to take the top position among all-rounders for the first time. Jadeja, who is the top-ranked Test bowler, has also gained nine places to reach 51st rank among batsmen while India's wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha has attained a career-best 44th position after moving up four places.

Pace bowlers Mohammad Shami (up three places to 20th) and Umesh Yadav (up three places to 22nd) have made notable gains. For Sri Lanka, Kusal Mendis has moved up 10 places to 19th position after scores of 24 and 110 in the Colombo Test while opener Dimuth Karunaratne has gained 13 slots to reach 24th rank after scores of 25 and 141. Niroshan Dickwella has moved up 21 slots to a career- best 68th position.