Pakistan spinner closes in on Bumrah for No.1 bowler ranking in Tests

Dubai [UAE], October 22 (ANI): Pakistan spinner Noman Ali climbed up to a career-best second ranking in the ICC Men's Test Rankings with an impressive ten-wicket haul against South Africa at Lahore, standing just 29 points away from dethroning Indian pace superstar Jasprit Bumrah.

Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.

The left-armer now has a total of 853 rating points at the head of the rankings for Test bowlers.

Noman was not the only Pakistan player to make a big jump this week, with fellow left-armer Shaheen Afridi rising three places to 19th on the same list for Test bowlers following his four-wicket haul in the second innings of that exact match.

A trio of Pakistan players also made some ground on the latest Test batter rankings following good scores against the Proteas, with Mohammad Rizwan (up four spots to 16th), Babar Azam (up two rungs to 22nd) and Salman Agha (up eight places to 30th) rising the charts that are still headed by England veteran Joe Root.

For the Proteas, Ryan Rickelton's first innings 71 in the first Test against Pakistan has moved him into the top 50 batters list for the first time, while Tony de Zorzi's century helped him up to 54th spot.

There were also changes to rankings lists in white-ball cricket this week, with Australian players rewarded for their victory over India in the ODI series opener in Perth and England players likewise for their T20I triumph against New Zealand in Christchurch.

Stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh gains two places to improve to 42nd overall on the list for ODI batters following his Player of the Match heroics on his home ground, while teammates Josh Hazlewood (jumps six spots to move to 10th) and Mitchell Starc (up four rungs to 21st) make ground on the rankings for ODI bowlers.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj re-enters the rankings in 17th position following his first ODI appearance in more than 12 months, while Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (up six places to 18th) makes ground after his efforts against the West Indies across the last week.

England's white-ball players have been rewarded for strong performances in New Zealand, with Harry Brook gaining 18 places to move to equal 20th on the latest rankings for T20I batters and spinner Adil Rashid gains three spots to move to third on the list for T20I bowlers following the side's victory over the Black Caps in Christchurch. (ANI)

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