LONDON, CMC – Amidst the gloom of the 2-0 series whitewash to India, there was a ray of sunshine for West Indies captain Jason Holder whose outstanding efforts in the second Test saw him leap into the top 10 of the ICC Test bowling rankings yesterday.
The 26-year-old seamer now lies at a career-best ninth, up four places following his superb haul of five for 56, which limited India to 367 all out in their first innings at Hyderabad on Sunday.
For Holder, the five-wicket haul was the fifth of his career and third in four innings, and the first by a West Indies bowler on Indian soil in 24 years. He also became only the third Windies bowler to take five-wicket hauls in three successive innings.
The performance extended a purple patch of form for the giant Barbadian that has seen him capture 33 wickets at an outstanding average of 11.87 this year.
“I feel pretty good at the moment. Hard work does pay off,” Holder said of his performance on Sunday, in the wake of the Windies’ 10-wicket defeat inside three days.
“At the start of my Test career, it was pretty difficult. The wickets were a litter drier at that time. I always had faith and I always had belief.”
Holder also gained three spots in the batting rankings to move to 53rd, on the heels of his first innings 52 which helped West Indies get up to 311 batting first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
His upward movement in both departments has seen him assume third spot in the all-rounders list, overtaking South African star Vernon Philander.
There was also good news for Roston Chase whose 106 in the first innings in Hyderabad helped him jump 10 spots to 31st in the batting rankings. The hundred was the fourth of the right-hander’s career and second against India.
Shai Hope, who scored 36 and 28, rose five places to 35th.
Opener Kraigg Brathwaite, meanwhile, dropped four places to 19th following a wretched series that yielded 26 runs from four innings. However, he remains the highest ranked West Indies batsman.
In the bowling, speedster Shannon Gabriel has dropped one place to be tied 12th with England’s Stuart Broad, and he and Holder are the only two Windies players in the top 20. Seamer Kemar Roach, who missed out on both Tests against India, lies 21st while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo is 34th, after going wicket-less in Hyderabad to end the series with four scalps.
India captain Virat Kohli heads an unchanged top 10 in the batting rankings while veteran England seamer Jimmy Anderson tops the bowling rankings.
Shakib-al-Hasan of Bangladesh remains the world’s leading all-rounder.
