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Pant, Duckett rise to career-high ratings after Headingley heroics

Pant, Duckett rise to career-high ratings after Headingley heroics

India Gazette25-06-2025
Leeds [US] June 25 (ANI): India's Rishabh Pant and England's Ben Duckett have achieved career-best ratings in the latest ICC Men's Test Batter Rankings, following their impressive performances with the bat in the first Test at Headingley, according to the official website of ICC.
Pant became just the second wicket-keeper behind Zimbabwe's Andy Flower to score two centuries in the same Test match when contributing 134 and 118 in the thrilling Leeds contest that England won by five wickets and gained a new career-best rating by improving one spot to move to seventh overall on the list for Test batters.
Duckett claimed Player of the Match honours for his innings of 62 and 149, with the left-hander also obtaining a new career-best rating, jumping up five places to eighth in the updated rankings for Test batters.
Duckett's England teammates Ollie Pope (up three spots to 19th) and Jamie Smith (up eighth places to 27th) also made some ground on the weekly update to the rankings, while India captain Shubman Gill jumped five rungs to 20th overall following his century in the first innings of the match.
England veteran Joe Root remains the No.1 ranked Test batter, with teammate Harry Brook his closest challenger.
The drawn first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh saw a host of their players make some inroads in the latest batter rankings, with Mushfiqur Rahim leading the way, following his innings of 163 in Galle.
Rahim gained 11 spots to move to 28th for Test batters, while teammate Najmul Hossain Shanto jumps a whopping 21 places to improve to 29th on the same list after he scored a pair of tons in the same match.
There was little change on the latest rankings for Test bowlers, with India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah maintaining his place at the top of proceedings following yet another five-wicket haul in the Headingley Test.
There was some joy for England skipper Ben Stokes, who gained three places to move up to fifth on the list for Test all-rounders following solid contributions with both bat and ball across the same Test.
There was also a few changes to the latest T20I rankings following the completion of the tri-series between Scotland, Nepal and the Netherlands that saw the hosts prevail in Glasgow.
Netherlands dasher Michael Levitt (up 16 spots to 14th) and Scotland all-rounder Brandon McMullen (up 20 rungs to equal 38th) made ground on the latest list for T20I batters, while spinner Mark Watt (up two places to 38th) made gains on the updated rankings for T20I bowlers.
There were also gains for Nepal spinner Lalit Rajbanshi, with the left-armer rising 29 places to 54th, following his four wickets across the tri-series. (ANI)
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