SPORTS REPORT
Islamabad (August 18, 2021):-England captain Joe Root’s valiant 180 not out in the first innings of the Lord’s Test has taken him to within striking distance of top-ranked batter Kane Williamson in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.
Root, who started the series in fifth place and overtook Virat Kohli after the first match against India, has risen another two slots to second position after the second Test. Root, a formerly top-ranked batter in the format, is on 893 rating points, only eight less than Kiwi skipper Williamson.
Player of the Match Lokesh Rahul is another batter to gain after helping India to a 151-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series. The 29-year-old opener, whose career-best is the eighth position he attained in November 2017, has gained 19 slots to reach 37th place with a knock of 129 in the first innings.
The bowlers to gain from the Lord’s Test include James Anderson, who has gained one spot and is sixth after a five-wicket haul in the first innings while other England pace bowler Mark Wood and India’s Mohammad Siraj have made significant gains to reach 37th and 38th positions, respectively. Wood has gained five slots with five wickets in the match while Siraj’s four wickets in each innings see him gain 18 places.
The latest weekly update, which includes performances in the first Test in Kingston, sees Pakistan captain Babar Azam move up two slots to eighth position among batters after scores of 30 and 55 while Faheem Ashraf and Fawad Alam have gained four slots each to reach 48th and 55th positions, respectively.
For the West Indies, who won by one wicket, Jermaine Blackwood has gained nine slots to reach 35th position after getting 22 and 55. All-rounder Jason Holder is up five places to 43rd and captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who missed a first-innings century by three runs, has advanced 18 places to 45th.
Holder has also moved into the top 10 for bowlers, his four wickets in the match lifting him two places to ninth position. Fast bowler Jayden Seales has soared 39 places to 58th after his eight-wicket match haul that earned him the Player of the Match award while Kemar Roach is another gainer, moving up two places to 11th.
For Pakistan, left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has gained four slots to reach 18th position after taking four wickets in each innings and Faheem is up four places to 71st.
