Durban triumph helps Aussie stars make big gains on rankings

Australia's massive victory over South Africa in the first Test in Durban has seen a host of their best performers make big gains on the latest ICC Men's Test Player Rankings.

The ICC World Test Championship pacesetters registered an impressive 214-run triumph over the Proteas in Kingsmead in the opening fixture of their three-game series, with in-form batter Matthew Renshaw leading the way with a Player of the Match performance.

Renshaw compiled a superb knock of 190 in the first innings and followed it up with a decent hand of 82 in the second dig to help put the Aussies in a dominant position and it saw the left-hander rise from outside the top 100 on the rankings for Test batters up into equal 49th position overall.

Teammate and former No.1 ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne (up four places to 34th) also made ground on the rankings for Test batters, while South Africa opener Aiden Markram rose four slots to move into equal 10th position on this list.

Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood did the damage on the final day by collecting career-best figures of 6/49 and it saw the experienced right-armer move up two spots to seventh overall on the list for Test bowlers that is still led by teammate Mitchell Starc.

Starc had his lead at the top reduced to just four rating points on New Zealand pacer Matt Henry despite three wickets in that Durban Test, while South Africa will be buoyed by the successful return of Anrich Nortje as he re-enters the rankings for Test bowlers in 34th position following his first red-ball contest in more than three years.

India veteran Ravindra Jadeja remains well out in front of the rankings for Test all-rounders, though South Africa duo Wiaan Mulder (up one slot to fourth) and Simon Harmer (up five rungs to equal 23rd) do make some ground after some decent efforts against the Aussies.

There is further movement on the Test charts following the thrilling finish in the one-off Test between Afghanistan and Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi that ended in a draw, with Rahmat Shah (up 13 places to 13th) and Litton Das (up three rungs to equal 29th) making ground on the batting charts and hat-trick hero Hasan Mahmud (up seven slots to 38th) rewarded for his five-wicket spell in that match.

There is also plenty of movement on the latest T20I rankings, with India captain Shreyas Iyer reaching a new career-high position on the list for T20I batters as he improves three spots to fourth overall following his blistering start to the five-game series against the West Indies at home.

Iyer smashed his maiden T20I century during the series opener in Lucknow and his rise to fourth now means India have four players inside the top quartet on the rankings for T20I batters, with Ishan Kishan (first), Abhishek Sharma (second) now joined by their more experienced teammate with Sahibzada Farhan sandwiching the trio in third place after the Pakistan skipper reached a career-best rating following an impressive display against Sri Lanka.

Other players to make gains on the rankings for T20I batters include Kusal Mendis (up three places to 23rd), Sherfane Rutherford (up 13 slots to equal 24th) and Sanju Samson (up four rungs to equal 27th), while Pakistan youngster Maaz Sadaqat rises the same list from outside the top 100 to 45th following some decent efforts across the three-game series with Sri Lanka.

West Indies Test skipper Roston Chase makes gains on the rankings for T20I bowlers (up 24 places to 23rd) and T20I all-rounders (up two slots to third) following some excellent performances against India, while Pakistan duo Salman Mirza (up nine rungs to 14th) and Saim Ayub (up eight places to 54th) make progress on the list for T20I bowlers.