Amla leapfrogs to second spot in ICC rankings

Johannesburg: South Africa batsman Hashim Amla has reaped reward for his brilliant performances during their 2-0 whitewash over New Zealand as he leapfrogged West Indies veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the second position in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.

Amla, who scored 176 runs, including a half-century and a ton during the Kiwi series, is now just one point behind Australian batsman Michael Clarke, who is sitting at the top of the rankings, Sport24 reports. Also among the top 10, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis swapped places, with the former moving up to sixth and the latter dropping to seventh position. Further down the list, the two other centurions from the second Test at St George``s Park, Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar, soared up the rankings. Du Plessis climbed five places to 38th, while Elgar, who found some much needed form in his third Test innings, moved up 49 positions to 96th. ANI