Dubai: Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins is the new number 1 Test bowler after the stupendous summer. He overtook South African Kagiso Rabada to take the top spot among bowlers.
With this feat, he became the first from his country since Glenn McGrath to top the Test bowlers’ list. McGrath was the last Australian to be ranked No.1, achieving the feat in February 2006, with Mitchell Johnson – who reached No.2 in 2009 – coming closest since then.Rabada slipped down to No.3 after managing just three wickets in two innings in Durban. Cummins is now No.1 with 878 points, and is followed by England’s Jimmy Anderson, who has 862 points.India captain Virat Kohli remained on top while teammate Chesteshwar Pujara managed to hold on to his third position in the latest ICC Test rankings, where Sri Lankan Kusal Perera made a quantum leap of 58 places. Kohli is leading the chart with 992 rating points ahead of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (897 points) and Pujara (881). Besides Kohli and Pujara, no other Indian feature in the top 10 list.
The left-handed Perera has reached a career-best 40th position after 15 Tests, scoring 51 and an unbeaten 153 that guided his team to an improbable win, partnering in the highest ever unbroken 10th wicket stand in a winning cause in first-class cricket. He added 78 runs for the last wicket with Vishwa Fernando (six not out) to beat an 83-year record set by the Australians against Madras in February 1936. (Agencies)
