Published 16:05 IST, February 10th 2021
ICC Test Rankings: Root, Anderson enter top 3, Virat Kohli drops to 5th post Chennai loss
Stuart Broad, who missed the first Test at Chennai, holds the second spot on the table just below Pat Cummins on the top in the ICC Test Rankings - Bowling
Making huge gains after the 227-run victory over India in the first Test of the series, England players rose to the top of the ICC Test Rankings table on Wednesday. The updated ranking saw the wrecker-in-chief at Chepauk - James Anderson - climb up three places to claim the third spot in the bowling rankings. Stuart Broad, who missed the first Test at Chennai, holds the second spot on the table just below Pat Cummins on the top. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah - the only Indian bowlers in the top 10 - hold the 7th and 8th position, respectively.
In the batting table, Indian skipper Virat Kohli saw a steep downfall as he has dropped down to the fifth spot with 852 points despite having scored a gritty half-century in the second innings. India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has also dropped down a spot to the seventh spot in the ICC Test Rankings - Batting. Meanwhile, England's Test skipper Joe Root claimed the third position on the table after his brilliant double century at the Chepauk stadium which set up the victory in Chennai. The top two batting remain unchanged with Kane Williamson continuing to hold the top spot followed by Steve Smith on the second position.
England's Ben Stokes continues to dominate the all-rounder table in Tests as he holds the top rank followed by Jason Holder and Ravindra Jadeja. The Test All-Rounder Rankings also features Ravichandran Ashwin at the 6th position.
England take lead at Chepauk
Defeating India by 227-runs in the first Test of the 4-match series, England took the lead as skipper Joe Root registered a double hundred in his 100th Test to put his team in the winning position. The Men in Blue fought hard to remain in the game, even as skipper Virat Kohli held one end strong on the final day aiming for a draw. However, the experience of Jimmy Anderson came into play as he rattled the Indian batsmen to take the visitors home.
Skipper Kohli waged a lone battle as India kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nonetheless, once he was cleaned up by Stokes for a fighting 72, it was only a matter of time before the English bowlers ran through Team India's lower-order as they were bundled out for just 192. Thus, the visitors ended up drawing first blood in the four-match series by registering a convincing 227-run win. England Test skipper Joe Root was adjudged the Man of the Match for his outstanding double-century (218) in the first innings.
"I don't think we put enough pressure on them with the ball in the first half. Collectively as a bowling unit, fast bowlers and Ash, were good in the first innings but we also needed to contain a few more runs and create pressure. Having said that, it was a slow wicket and not helping the bowlers which made it easy for the batsmen to rotate strike and get into the game," Kohli said after the loss.
Updated 16:05 IST, February 10th 2021