Tendulkar, Kallis share number-one batting spot

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis of South Africa have jointly claimed the coveted number-one position in the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen after stellar performances in the Cape Town Test which finished on Thursday.

Tendulkar, who scored 146 and 14 not out, has gained one place while Kallis has been rewarded with a jump of four places for his performances of 161 and 109 not out that earned him the man of the series and match of the match awards, to leapfrog Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara.

Both the batsmen now sit on 883 ratings points, just one ahead of Sangakkara.

Tendulkar, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year Award 2010 at the LG ICC Awards in Bengaluru in October last year, last claimed the number-one spot on 14 October 2010 after his magnificent 214 and 53 not out against Australia also in Bengaluru.

It is the 10th time that Tendulkar has claimed the number-one ranking which he first achieved in his 33rd Test in November 1994 against the West Indies in Mumbai.

Kallis last surged to the top of the batting table in October 2005 after the Sydney Test against Australia while he first topped the chart after the Newlands Test against England in January 2005. He earned 77 ratings points from the series against India in which he scored 498 runs.

Also charging up the batting table are left-handed openers Alastair Cook of England and Gautam Gambhir of India. Cook, who scored a match-winning 189 in Sydney, has vaulted eight places to fifth spot.

Cook had entered the Ashes in 30th position on 628 ratings point and ended the series with a career-best rating of 803 ? thanks to his series aggregate of 766 runs which earned him the man of the series award.

Gambhir has broken into the top 20 and he now sits in 15th position after his scores of 93 and 64 have helped him jump seven places in the latest rankings which were released on Friday.

England?s Ian Bell and Matt Prior have also improved their rankings after hitting centuries in England?s an innings and 83 runs victory in Sydney. Bell has moved up five places to 22nd position while Prior is now in 29th position after gaining six places.

In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, South Africa?s Dale Steyn continues to lead the pack. He is now on 899 ratings points after earning two ratings points and will now have to wait until the next Test series against Australia in September-October before he takes a shot at the 900-point mark threshold.

Bowlers making upward movements include James Anderson in third (up by one place), Ishant Sharma in 15th (up by one place), S.Sreesanth in 22nd (up by four places), Ben Hilfenhaus in 24th (up by two places), Shane Watson in 32nd (up by one place) and Tim Bresnan in 36th (up by five places).

There is no change in the top five of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders with Kallis leading Daniel Vettori of New Zealand by a distance.