James Anderson is defeated by Ravichandran Ashwin to become the top test bowler

The seasoned Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin replaced England pacer James Anderson at the top of the most recent ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings on Wednesday. After collecting six wickets in India’s convincing victory over Australia in the second Test at New Delhi, Ashwin took the top spot. After England’s shocking defeat to New Zealand in the Wellington Test, Anderson fell to second place. In 2015, the 36-year-old Ashwin initially won the top prize among Test bowlers, and he has held that position ever since.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith were both dismissed by Ashwin in the same over of the first innings of India’s victory in Dehli, and he later returned to catch Alex Carey for a duck.

In the second innings, the off-spinner continued to dominate, picking up three of the top five hitters as his spin-bowling partner Ravindra Jadeja dispatched the remaining batters for Australia from the opposite end.

In India’s final two Tests at home in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ashwin has a chance to prolong his current stretch at No. 1. The previous time around, Anderson displaced Australia skipper Pat Cummins as the top Test bowler, making Ashwin the third No. 1 Test bowler in as many weeks. According to the most recent rankings, the trio remains among the top three bowlers.

Ashwin, who still has 864 rating points, is now five rating points ahead of Anderson.

With Ashwin and Jadeja holding the top two spots in the Test All-Rounder Rankings, Jadeja’s 10 wickets in the second Test against Australia helped him rise to seventh place in the bowling rankings.

Joe Root of England, who rose two spots to eighth in the all-rounder rankings, is the other notable mover.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Test Batting Rankings, Root’s return to form in Wellington also enabled him to pass Travis Head and Babar Azam and move up to third place. The top two Test batters are still Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, respectively.

Tom Blundell of New Zealand has moved up four spots to seventh place in the top 10 after helping the Black Caps win the legendary follow-on match against England by one run.

England rising gun Harry Brook continues his spectacular rise up the batting rankings following another stunning century, climbing 15 places to pull level with Virat Kohli in 16th.