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Tendulkar back among top 20 Test batsmen

October 22, 2008 20:09 IST

By eclipsing Brain Lara's record of 11,953 runs and becoming the highest run-getter in Test cricket, Sachin Tendulkar catapulted back among the top 20 Test batsman, according to the latest ICC players' rankings, released on Wednesday.

Tendulkar had slumped to No 24 before the second Test against Australia, his lowest in 15 years, but in Mohali, during the second Test, the 35-year-old proved that he is not finished yet. His innings of 88 and 10 not out saw him improve his ranking to 19.

Gautam Gambhir's innings of 67 and 104 took him eight places up, to 29, while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, under whose captaincy India clinched the second Test, moved seven places to 37.

Retiring left-hander Sourav Ganguly, who scored a century in the first innings of the second Test, surged two places to 23, while Virender Sehwag's good showing with the bat gave him tenth place in the list.

However, after lacklustre performances, seniors like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman lost ground.

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting, who scored just seven runs in the match, slipped one place to five, while teammate Michael Hussey was dethroned from the No 1 spot to third.

His place was taken by West Indies stalwart and ICC Cricketer of the Year Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka moving up to second.

New Zealand's Daniel Vettori's match-winning innings of 55 not out and 76 in two innings in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong earned him five places and the No 31 ranking.

Amongst the bowlers, Harbhajan Singh spun his way into the top 10 list, taking over the reign of India's highest-ranked bowler from Zaheer Khan, who slipped a place to 12.

Harbhajan's match statistics of 49-12-96-5 in Mohali enabled him climb three places to ninth spot, while Ishant Sharma's exploits with the new ball shot him eight spots up to 31.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old leg-spinner Amit Mishra exploded on the scene and is a new entry at number 50 after taking seven wickets in a dream debut against Australia.

It was also a productive match for Mitchell Johnson, who gained three places and moved to No 30 on the list.

Vettori's exploits with the ball in the first Test against Bangladesh, where he scalped nine wickets, moved him seven places to 14th position in the bowling ladder.