Sachin loses top spot to Kallis in Tests

Dubai: Sachin Tendulkar on Friday 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.

Sachin Tendulkar lost the coveted number one spot in the ICC Test rankings to South Africa's Jacques Kallis. © AFP

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.

PTI