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Joe Root has regained the top position in the ICC Test batting rankings, overtaking teammate Harry Brook. Root’s return to the number one spot follows his scores of 32 and 54 in England’s third Test loss to New Zealand in Hamilton, while Brook slipped to second after failing to score in both innings. In the […]
Joe Root has regained the top position in the ICC Test batting rankings, overtaking teammate Harry Brook. Root’s return to the number one spot follows his scores of 32 and 54 in England’s third Test loss to New Zealand in Hamilton, while Brook slipped to second after failing to score in both innings.
In the T20I rankings, Akeal Hosein has risen to the top spot for bowlers. Following his impressive 2 for 13 performance in the opening match against Bangladesh, Hosein jumped three places, surpassing Adil Rashid, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Adam Zampa.
Babar Azam moved to sixth in the T20I batters’ rankings, while his captain Mohammad Rizwan dropped to eighth. Reeza Hendricks also made a significant jump, moving six to ninth after his outstanding 117 off 63 balls in the second T20I against South Africa in Centurion.
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Joe Root reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Test batting rankings just a week after teammate Harry Brook surged to No. 1 following two strong performances in Wellington and Christchurch. Root returned to the top after scoring 32 and 54 in England’s loss to New Zealand in Hamilton. In addition to regaining the top rank, Root finished third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Kane Williamson ranked third and made significant progress in rating points, narrowing the gap to Root, who now holds 895 points after scoring 44 and 156 in Tim Southee’s farewell Test.
The latest Test rankings also saw movement among the bowlers, with Matt Henry climbing to seventh after his match-winning performance of 4 for 48 and 2 for 62 in New Zealand’s victory in Hamilton. In the allrounder rankings, England’s Gus Atkinson jumped five places to eighth after taking four wickets and contributing scores of 43 and 4 in the third Test against New Zealand.
Australia and India created an exciting “what-if” scenario in the 22 overs possible on the final day of the third Border-Gavaskar Test at the Gabba. After Australia took the last Indian wicket early on Day 5, securing a 185-run first-innings lead, they aggressively pursued a win, declaring at 89 for 7 after just 18 thrilling overs. This left India with a challenging target of 275 in a theoretical 54 overs. However, only 2.1 overs were possible before bad light forced the players off the field, followed by rain, which ended the match early, resulting in a draw.
The match saw strong performances earlier. Australia’s 445 included centuries from Travis Head (152) and Steve Smith (101), while India responded with 260, thanks to solid innings from KL Rahul (84) and Ravindra Jadeja (77). Jasprit Bumrah was a standout performer for India, taking 6 wickets for 76 runs in Australia’s first innings and 3 for 18 in the second. Despite the rain, the final day’s brief action left fans imagining what could have been.
Australia’s brief innings on the fifth day offered a glimpse of the many possible outcomes of the match if the weather had cooperated. With pronounced seam movement and uneven bounce, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj took five wickets in 11 overs. However, some dismissals came from Australia’s aggressive intent, as they pushed for quick runs. Mitchell Marsh was promoted to No. 4, and Travis Head batted above Steven Smith while the middle order went for their shots. The runs flowed quickly, with Head, Alex Carey, and Pat Cummins adding 59 runs off 49 balls.
Given the conditions favorable for the new ball, Australia might have believed they could bowl India out. The pitch allowed for run-scoring, and with one of their fast bowlers absent, India could have envisioned a chance to chase down the target if they survived the early overs. However, as it turned out, the draw seemed the most realistic outcome. It kept the series evenly poised at 1-1 with two matches remaining. The rain ultimately ended any hopes of a result, leaving both teams with a sense of what could have been.
Australia’s declaration at 89 for 7 evoked memories of the 1950 Test at the same ground when both England and Australia declared low scores while attempting to make the most of a tricky pitch after rain. Such events are rare in the modern era, but today’s situation mirrored that with Australia’s bold declaration. One player who may have been disappointed by the rain was Bumrah. Having just returned for a new spell and taking his ninth wicket of the match by dismissing Cummins, he was tantalizingly close to claiming his first-ever ten-wicket haul, a feat he has yet to achieve in his storied career.
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