Kagiso Rabada takes lead as World's No. 1 bowler in Tests

Kagiso Rabada (PIc: AFP)

South Africa's right-arm seamer Kagiso Rabada overtook star India bowler Jasprit Bumrah and rose in the latest ICC Test Rankings to become the number one Test bowler in the longest format of the game.

Rabada claimed the No.1 spot on the back of strong form for the Proteas during the ongoing ICC World Test Championship, with the right-arm fast bowler taking his 300th Test wicket during South Africa's recent seven-wicket triumph over Bangladesh in Mirpur in the first Test of the two-match series.

The 29-year-old collected nine wickets during that contest to play a major role in the Proteas' victory and rose three places to jump past Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Ravichandran Ashwin in the process to return to the No.1 ranking for Test bowlers for the first time since the start of 2019.

Rabada first held the premier ranking in January 2018 and has been consistently sitting inside the top 10 for the bulk of the time since he relinquished the No.1 spot in February 2019.

Hazlewood is at the second position in the ICC Test Rankings among bowlers as Bumrah (third) and Ashwin (fourth) lose ground, while Pakistan spinner Noman Ali is a new member inside the top 10 after his heroics in the third and final Test of his side's recent series win against England in Rawalpindi.

Noman took nine wickets for the match and was rewarded with an eight-spot jump to ninth overall and a new career-high rating on the list for Test bowlers, while fellow spinner and teammate Sajid Khan also earned the best rating of his career in improving 12 spots to 38th following his 10 scalps from the same contest.

New Zealand's hero from their series-clinching victory over India, Mitchell Santner also earned a new career-high rating for his 13-wicket haul in Pune, with the left-arm spinner rising a whopping 30 rungs to move to 44th overall on the latest list for Test bowlers.

Rachin Ravindra (up eight spots to 10th) is among the big movers on the updated rankings for Test batters, with England veteran Joe Root remaining well out in front of this category despite a pair of low scores in the third Test against Pakistan.

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Joe Root contributed scores of five and 33 during the nine-wicket loss, with India youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal the main beneficiary as he gained one place to move to third on the list for Test batters following contributions of 30 and 77 against the Black Caps.

Pakistan left-hander Saud Shakeel entered the top 10 for Test batters as he improves 20 spots to move to seventh overall on the back of his innings of 134 against England, while New Zealand trio Devon Conway (up eight places to 28th), Tom Latham (up six rungs to 34th) and Glenn Phillips (up 16 spots to 45th and South Africa's Kyle Verreynne (up 14 places to 32nd also make significant gains.

India duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin maintain a healthy lead at the top of the rankings for Test all-rounders, with Bangladesh star Mehidy Hasan the biggest eye-catcher this week as he gains two places to move to third following solid contributions with both bat and ball against South Africa.

(With agency inputs)