Ravindra Jadeja has topped the ICC bowlers’ rankings in ODIs, level with West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, after jumping four places.
Jadeja is the first India bowler to top the rankings since Anil Kumble, who topped the table in 1996, and is the fourth India bowler to do so, Kapil Dev and Maninder Singh being the others.
Jadeja took five wickets from five matches in the ODI series against Zimbabwe and is the leading wicket-taker this year with 38 wickets from 22 matches at 18.86. He also topped the wicket-takers list in the Champions Trophy with 12 wickets from five matches, and was named Man of the Match in the final against England. His team-mate Amit Mishra rocketed 47 places to 32nd spot after claiming 18 wickets against Zimbabwe in the bilateral series.
Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who is ranked third after Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, equalled his career-high ranking in the batting list. Sangakkara, the leading run-scorer in the ODI series against South Africa with 372 runs at an average of 93, was last ranked third in 2005. Tillakaratne Dilshan gained two places and is now at the sixth spot. He scored 273 runs in the series and was second in the list of leading run-scorers.
Meanwhile, India strengthened their position at the top of the ODI rankings after their 5-0 win even though it earned them just one rating point. Australia are ranked second, nine rating points behind India. Sri Lanka and South Africa swapped places and Sri Lanka are now ranked fourth, six rating points ahead of South Africa.
-With Cricinfo input
