Dravid, Laxman move up in Test batting chart

Rahul Dravid broke into the top 10 while VVS Laxman climbed to 13th spot in the ICC Test rankings.

Dubai: The impressive performances in the first two Tests of the ongoing series against the West Indies saw Rahul Dravid break into the top 10 while VVS Laxman climbed to 13th spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen issued on Friday.

Dravid scored a brilliant 119 while Laxman made an unbeaten 176 during India`s just-concluded second Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens which the home team won by an innings and 15 runs to pocket the three-match series 2-0. By virtue of these outstanding performances, Dravid has moved up four places to eighth position and Laxman gained five spots to 13th in the recently-released Test batsmen chart. The other Indian in the top 10 is Sachin Tendulkar, who with an aggregate of 796 points remains at the fifth position in the list which is being headed by Sri Lanka`s Kumara Sangakkara. However, it was not so good news for the West Indian middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored a century in the first Test against in Delhi, as he dropped made four places to remain just inside the top 10 bracket. Among Indian bowlers, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was the main mover as he gained six places to 26th position, the highest ranking of his career till date. The 25-year-old spinner took a whopping 13 wickets (seven in Delhi and six in Kolkata) in the first two Tests against the West Indies to play a major role in India`s series win. Zaheer Khan, who is placed at number six, remains the only Indian in the top 10 bowling chart, which is dominated by South Africa`s Dale Steyn with an aggregate of 902 points. The other Indian bowler to feature in to 20 is Ishant Sharma who is placed at 17th spot. PTI