India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin faces a challenge - in terms of ranking points - from his team-mate Ravindra Jadeja as the two spinners play Bangladesh in a one-off Test in Hyderabad Thursday onwards. Ashwin is the No. 1-ranked bowler in Tests, but Jadeja is breathing down his neck as he is just eight points behind.
If Jadeja outshines Ashwin with the ball, he can potentially move ahead of the off-spinner. Ashwin has been perched on the top of the list of leading Test bowlers since bowling India to a 321-run victory over New Zealand in Indore in October 2016. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan is the third highest-ranked bowler in (14th place) to feature in the series. He is followed by India’s Ishant Sharma (23rd), Mehedi Hasan of Bangladesh (36th), India’s Umesh Yadav (37th) and Taijul Islam of Bangladesh (39th).
Smith v Kohli
In the batting category, India's captain Virat Kohli is 58 points behind No. 1-ranked Steve Smith. Kohli will be aiming to carry his strong form into the Hyderabad Test, which could help him narrow the gap with his Australian opposite number. Other top batsmen to feature in the Test include Cheteshwar Pujara (12th), Ajinkya Rahane (15th), Shakib (22nd), Murali Vijay (27th), Tamim Iqbal (28th) and Mominul Haque (29th).
In terms of rankings points for Test teams, No. 1 ranked India leads ninth-ranked Bangladesh by 58 points. Since the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, Bangladesh’s win will earn it five points, while India will drop from 120 points to 118 points. If India lives up to its ranking and wins the Test, it will earn one point while Bangladesh will also drop only a single point.
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