Mendis, Fernando make big gains in Test rankings

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Sri Lanka batsmen Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando have made major gains in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after anchoring their side to a memorable eight-wicket win in Port Elizabeth that helped complete a historic 2-0 series triumph.

  • Duanne Olivier moves into the top 20 after only 10 Test matches

A series made in heaven – Cricket’s David vs Goliath story

Just a push off Oshada Fernando’s bat to mid-wicket for 1 run. It was a subdued end to what has been a phenomenal…

The unbroken 163-run stand from the pair enabled Sri Lanka to become the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa and they had individual gains too. An unbeaten 84 from Mendis lifted him to 18th among batsmen while Fernando’s 75 not out helped him jump 35 places and reach 65th position in the list after just two Tests.

Niroshan Dickwella is another Sri Lanka batsman to make a notable improvement in the latest rankings update, moving up eight slots to reach 37th place with his first innings knock of 42 while left-handed opener Lahiru Tharimanne finds himself in the top 100.

Mendis finished unbeaten on 84 and added 163 runs for the third wicket with Fernando

Among their bowlers, Suranga Lakmal (up three places to 30th) and Vishwa Fernando (up six places to a career-best 43rd) have advanced after taking four wickets each in the second Test while Kasun Rajitha’s five wickets in the match have helped him move up eight places to 51st position.

Photos: Sri Lanka vs South Africa 2nd Test 2019 | Day 3

The bright spot for South Africa is the continued progress of fast bowler Duanne Olivier, who has moved into the top 20 after only 10 Tests. The 26-year-old’s four wickets in the match have helped him gain three slots to reach 19th position in the list, which has two others fast bowlers from his team ahead of him – Kagiso Rabada in third place and Vernon Philander in fourth.

Meanwhile, South Africa have slipped to third place in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, losing five points and finishing at 105 after losing both Tests to their lower-ranked opposition. Sri Lanka remain in sixth place, but have moved up to 93 points.

New Zealand are second with 107 points and will need to win an upcoming three-Test home series against Bangladesh, starting Thursday, in order to retain second place. The predictor function is available here.

Read More: Mendis targets 1000 runs in 2019

MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 24 February, after the Port Elizabeth Test)

  • Batsmen (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Virat Kohli India 922 53.76 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018
2 ( – ) K. Williamson NZ 897 51.44 915 v SL at Wellington 2018
3 ( – ) C. Pujara India 881 51.18 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
4 ( – ) Steve Smith Aus 857 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018
5= ( – ) Joe Root Eng 763 49.51 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
( – ) Henry Nicholls NZ 763*! 43.54 763 v SL at Christchurch 2018
7 ( – ) David Warner Aus 756 48.2 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
8 ( – ) A. Markram SA 719* 43.8 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
9 -1 Q. de Kock SA 718 39.31 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017
10 ( – ) Faf du Plessis SA 702 42.95 734 v India at Centurion 2018
  • Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team  Pts Avge Highest Rating
18 (+11) Kusal Mendis SL 657 36.65 693 v Win at St Lucia 2018
37 (+8) N. Dickwella SL 564 30.11 576 v India at Kolkata 2017
65 (+35) O. Fernando SL 455*! 43.66 455 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2019
98 (+3) L. Thirimanne SL 342 22.89 386 v India at Colombo (PSS) 2015
  • Bowlers (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Pat Cummins Aus 878*! 22.02 878 v SL at Canberra 2019
2 ( – ) J. Anderson Eng 862 26.93 903 v India at Lord’s 2018
3 ( – ) K. Rabada SA 851 21.77 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
4 ( – ) V. Philander SA 813 21.64 912 v India at Johannesburg 2013
5 ( – ) R. Jadeja India 794 23.68 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
6 ( – ) Trent Boult NZ 771 27.9 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015
7= ( – ) Jason Holder Win 770* 27.69 778 v Eng at Antigua 2019
( – ) M. Abbas Pak 770* 18.86 838 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2018
9 ( – ) Tim Southee NZ 767 29.93 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014
10 ( – ) R. Ashwin India 763 25.43 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
  • Other selected rankings
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Highest rating
19 (+3) Duanne Olivier SA 692*! 19.25 692 v SL at Port Elizabeth 2019
30= (+3) S. Lakmal SL 573 39.43 590 v SA at Galle 2018 
43= (+6) V. Fernando SL 385*! 26.26 385 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2019
51 (+8) Kasun Rajitha SL 326* 29.56 374 v Win at Barbados 2018
77 (+19) D. de Silva SL 170*! 53.6 170 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2019
  • All-rounders (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Rating
1 ( – ) Jason Holder Win 439/* 448 v Eng at Antigua 2019
2 ( – ) S. Al Hasan Ban 415 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
3 ( – ) R. Jadeja India 387 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
4 ( – ) Ben Stokes Eng 357 395 v Win at Lord’s 2017
5 ( – ) V. Philander SA 326 377 v SL at Galle 2018

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!indicates career-highest rating