Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva has been rewarded for his Player of the Match heroics during the first Test against Bangladesh by making giant strides on the latest ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.
The Sri Lanka skipper scored twin tons in Sylhet to help his side register a commanding 328-run victory over their Asian rival and in the process rose to a new career-high rating on the updated rankings for Test batters.
De Silva shot up a whopping 15 places to 14th overall following scores of 102 and 108, with the 32-year-old improving to a best-ever figure of 695 rating points to be within just 40 rating points of breaking into the top 10 Test batters in the world.
Kamindu Mendis also contributed twin tons during the first Test against Bangladesh and the left-hander re-entered the rankings for Test batters in equal 64th place following an eye-catching performance in what was just his second Test appearance.
Veteran left-hander Mominul Haque played a lone hand for Bangladesh with an unbeaten 87* in the second innings in Sylhet and rose eight places to 50th on the list for Test batters as a result.
There was more joy for Sri Lanka’s players on the updated rankings for Test bowlers, with right-arm quick Kasun Rajitha among the biggest movers following his five-wicket haul in the second innings against Bangladesh.
It helped Rajitha move up six places to 38th overall, while teammates Vishwa Fernando (up seven spots to 43rd) and Lahiru Kumara (up six rungs to equal 46th) also made some ground following impressive performances with the ball.
India duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin maintain their spots at the head of the Test rankings for all-rounders, with Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan (up one place to 14th) and de Silva (up five spots to equal 25th) the notable movers this week. (ICC)
