India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on the brink of returning to the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Bowler Rankings, while Ravindra Jadeja also jumped higher after their joint demolition of Australia.
The spin twins haunted Australia in the first Test between the two leading nations in the current cycle of the ICC World Test Championship with a combined 15 wickets as India won by an innings 132 runs.
Ashwin ensured India wrapped up their stunning victory before tea on the third day, as the veteran off-spinner took 5/37 in the second innings to go with 3/42 earlier in the match.
The 36-year-old has climbed to the second spot in the Test bowler rankings, 21 rating points behind Australia captain Pat Cummins and a return to the No.1 ranking for the first time since 2017.
While Ashwin stepped up in what turned out to be the last session of the Test, Jadeja did the damage on the first day with 5/47 including the prized wickets of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.
Jadeja then took 2/34 in the second innings to partner with Ashwin as the spin twins quickly dismissed Australia’s top seven batters and left them reeling at 67/7 on the way to being all out for just 91.
