New Delhi:
Jasprit Bumrah has made big strides in the latest ICC Test rankings after his magnificent performance in the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua. Bumrah, the fastest Indian pacer to 50 wickets, is now seventh in the bowlers' list after a leap of nine places owing to his five-wicket haul against the West Indies. During the Antigua Test, Bumrah created a unique record. Bumrah's haul of 5/7 is the economical five-wicket haul in Tests by an Indian bowler. The previous cheapest five-wicket haul was by left-arm orthodox spinner Venkatapathy Raju when he took 6/12 against Sri Lanka in Chandigarh in 1990. Harbhajan Singh had also taken 5/13 when he ran through the West Indies in Jamaica in 2006.
Bumrah also achieved a first for an Asian bowler in Test history. The right-arm pacer took his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests and it has come in four different tours and in his first set of tours. Bumrah took his first five-wicket haul in Johannesburg against South Africa and he followed it up with a five-wicket haul in Trent Bridge, Melbourne and now Antigua. Remarkably, India have won all Tests where Bumrah has taken a five-wicket haul.
After missing the first couple of Tests in England, Bumrah took 5/85 in Trent Bridge as India secured their only win in the five-match series which they lost 1-4. In Australia, Bumrah's haul of 6/33 helped India win in Melbourne for the first time in 37 years as India registered a win in a Test series in Australia for the first time.
The biggest gain in the ICC Test rankings was Ben Stokes, who blasted an unbeaten 135 and helped England achieve their highest successful run-chase in Test history. Stokes shared a partnership of 76 with Jack Leach as England won by one wicket to level the five-match Ashes series 1-1 with two matches still to play.
The knock has helped Stokes reach career-best positions among batsmen and all-rounders. He is now 13th among batsmen and second among all-rounders. Virat Kohli occupies the top spot with 910 points while Steve Smith, with 904, is placed second. Kane Williamson and Cheteshwar Pujara are distant third and fourth respectively. Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, with scores of 81 and 102 in the first Test against the West Indies, jumped 10 places to be 11th in the list.
