Indias Very Very Special batsman VVS Laxman today jumped back into the top 20 of the ICC Test batsmen rankings for the first time in three years following his excellent knock in the first innings of the first Test against Pakistan in New Delhi last week.
Dubai, Nov 28 : India's 'Very Very Special' batsman VVS Laxman today jumped back into the top 20 of the ICC Test batsmen rankings for the first time in three years following his excellent knock in the first innings of the first Test against Pakistan in New Delhi last week.
Laxman, who scored an unbeaten 72 in India's 276 score, climbed two places to 20th position in the latest ICC rankings released today.
He returned to top 20 after October 2004 when he was there during the home series against Australia.
The 33-year-old now has South Africa captain Graeme Smith in 19th spot in his sights. Smith's next Test appearance will be against the West Indies in the Boxing Day Test in Port Elizabeth, which means if the Hyderabad batsman carries his good form into the next two Tests, he has every chance of overtaking the Proteas' skipper.
Indian Test captain Anil Kumble was also rewarded for bowling his team to a six-wicket victory that gives India a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. Kumble, who won the Man of the Match award for his 7-106, rose two places to fifth in the Test bowlers rankings.
Kumble, who also contributed 24 with the bat in the first innings, narrows the gap behind team-mate and eighth-placed Irfan Pathan to four points in the ICC Test all-rounders table.
Wasim Jaffer and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are also on the rise in. Jaffer, who scored 32 and 53, jumped two places to 40th position - the first time he has achieved this ranking in his career - while Dhoni also improved his ranking by two places to 41st after scoring 57.
Rahul Dravid is the highest-ranked Indian batsman at 11th position, while Sachin Tendulkar is 18th and Sourav Ganguly is in 28th spot after dropping one position.
For Pakistan, the only consolation from the New Delhi Test defeat was Misbah-ul-Haq's jump from 88th position to 66th spot. Haq stood tall in an otherwise ordinary batting display by the tourists, scoring 82 and 45 in his two innings.
Shoaib Akhtar, who had match figures of 6-102 in what was his first Test in 11 months, strengthens his position in the top-10 of the Test bowlers by rising two places to eighth.
Akhtar will now be targeting seventh-placed Shane Bond and eighth-placed Brett Lee, who are within striking distance of the Pakistani speedster.
ANI