Pendulum swing for Mendis, Herath and Tharanga in ICC Player Rankings
It has been a pendulum swing for Kusal Mendis and Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka’s star performers in the emphatic first Test triumph against Bangladesh last week. The duo going trumps up in raising their respective ICC player batting and bowling rankings has indeed raised their personal standings.
His 194 and 19 in that 259-run win has sped the 22-year old Mendis nine places up to 23rd position in the ICC batting rankings that is a high endorsement of the new blood discovery themed on by the island nation’s cricket authorities Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). To stand among the might of world cricket yet in the throes of raw years with just one year on to have won his national cap does magnify the arrival of a much looked future hopeful by the Sri Lankan cricketing establishment.
Meanwhile, Rangana Herath’s outstanding 9-wicket match performance with the ball that plummeted the left arm spinner to the highest wicket taker world record by a left arm spinner, has put the Sri Lankan captain in the envious 4th slot. That Herath has transcended age to a new level of high stakes grabbing aura at age 38 is indeed an extraordinarily remarkable feature of player resolve; a shot in the arm for the spin genre in an era where youth takes pride of place in performance.
There was another hero to emerge from the Galle Test in Upul Tharanga who scripted a perfect comeback from hibernation on the back of a breezy second innings century when quick runs were needed to have a go at the opposition. Tharanga became the third Sri Lankan to get in to the ICC player standings going up 9 slots up to 44th spot in the batting.
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has gained two spots to reach second rank in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen released on March 13 Monday after the first Test against South Africa in Dunedin which ended in a draw on Sunday.
Williamson has leapfrogged Joe Root and Virat Kohli after his fine knock of 130.
Williamson, who was number-one ranked for a brief while in November-December 2015, is now on 869 points, 21 points ahead of third-placed Root but a good 67 points adrift of table leader Steve Smith of Australia, who is on 936 points.
By Srian Obeyesekere
-The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Sri Lanka Cricket-
