Mahela Jayawardena back in batting top 20

Sri Lanka’s players have made impressive gains in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Tests, following its nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the second Test in Dubai.
Leading the charge for Sri Lanka was former captain Mahela Jayawardena. He jumped seven places to 18th on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, to thereby return to the top 20, following his knock of 129 in the first innings. The other Sri Lanka batsmen to move up are openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva. Kumar Sangakkara in sixth, is still the highest ranked batsman on either side.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s pace duo of Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal have made moved up on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. Lakmal’s match haul of six for 123 helped him raise 17 places to 66th. Eranga, on the other hand, jumped 12 places to a career-high of 45th. Rangana Herath in fourth place is the highest ranked bowler on either side, with Saeed Ajmal closely following him in fifth place.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s win over Pakistan in the second Test means that its hopes of moving into fifth place on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table, remains alive. Sri Lanka currently leads the three-match series 1-0 and needs to win the Sharjah Test starting from Thursday, to move ahead of Pakistan into fifth place.
Sri Lanka is presently ranked sixth with 88 points, while Pakistan is ranked fifth with 102 ratings points.