Tendulkar loses top spot to Kallis in ICC Test rankings

Sachin Tendulkar today lost the coveted number one spot in the ICC Test rankings to South Africa's Jacques Kallis but Rahul Dravid, adjudged man-of -the-match for scoring a century in the first Test against West Indies, returned to the top-20 after jumping nine places.

According to an ICC media release, left-hander Suresh Raina, too, moved up 26 places to be placed 61st after his after his useful knock of 82 in the first innings against West Indies at Kingston. Tendulkar lost the top after the iconic batsman decided to skip the series against West Indies. He is currently placed second. As a player loses one per cent of his rating points for every Test he misses, Tendulkar will lose more points as he will not figure in the remaining two Tests. However, the Mumbaikar will still enter next month's Test series against England as the number two batsman. Dravid, who notched up a patient 112 on a difficult Sabina Park pitch, earned 45 rating points for his effort and is placed at the 20th spot. This is Dravid's best position since November 2010 when he slipped out of the top 20 following the Nagpur Test against New Zealand. The veteran batsman's seven-hour vigil at the crease set the platform for India's 63-run victory, and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Dravid had won the ICC Cricketer and ICC Test Player of the Year awards in 2004. Other batsmen losing ground include VVS Laxman (13th), down by five places, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (38th), down by two places. Among the bowlers, fast bowler Ishant Sharma has moved up three places to 11th position after returning with figures of 3-29 and 3-81 in the Jamaica Test. West Indies opener Adrian Barath has rocketed 29 places to 62nd after his scores of 64 and 38. But Shivnarine Chanderpaul, (8th), slipped by a place, Ramnaresh Sarwan (39th), by two, while Brendan Nash slipped down five places to be 52nd. Wrist spinner Devendra Bishoo maintained his upward movement and is ranked 49th. He moved up 12 places after returning match figures of 7-140. Dale Steyn of South Africa maintained his pole position among Test bowlers followed by England's Graeme Swann and James Anderson in second and third positions, respectively.