Karachi:Pakistan opener Shan Masood’s solid first-inning’s century has helped him move significantly up to reach career-best rankings in ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, which were updated on Sunday after the first Test in Manchester.
Left-hander Masood’s knock of 156, which helped Pakistan take a 107-run first innings lead, has lifted him 14 places to a career-best 19th position, making him the second highest ranked Test batsman from his side after sixth-placed Babar Azam. Masood’s previous best was 32nd position in February this year.
However, England turned out to be a better side in the second inning and eventually won the match by three wickets.
In the bowlers’ list, Pakistan leg-spinners Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan have made notable gains. Shah, a formerly top-ranked bowler, has moved up two places to 22nd place after finishing with eight wickets in the match. Shadab has re-entered the rankings at a career-best 69th position.
In the ICC World Test Championship points table, England have moved to 266 points, within 30 points of second-placed Australia. India lead the table with 360 points, New Zealand are fourth with 180 points and Pakistan fifth at 140.
Each series of the WTC is worth 120 points, distributed evenly over the number of matches in a series. The points range from 60 for each match of a two-Test series to 24 for each match of a five-Test series.