ICC Test Rankings: Kane Williamson back at top, Virat Kohli remains fourth
Dubai, Jun 30: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has reclaimed the number one position in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen after leading his side to the World Test Championship title in Southampton last week.
The 30-year-old's knocks of 49 and 52 not out in the low-scoring final against India helped him move above the 900-point mark and he now enjoys a 10-point lead over Steve Smith (891 rating points).
India skipper Virat Kohli remains in fourth position while Rohit Sharma has moved up to the sixth spot. India wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant is seventh.
Williamson, who conceded the top spot to Smith two weeks ago, is back in the position he had first grabbed in November 2015 during a series against Australia.
Ross Taylor, who scored an unbeaten 47 and partnered in an unbroken 96-run stand with Williamson, has advanced three places to 14th position while left-hander Devon Conway has gained 18 slots to reach 42nd place after top-scoring with 52 in the first innings.
New Zealand's fast bowlers too have gained after thriving in the seaming conditions with player of the match Kyle Jamieson continuing the stupendous start to his Test career.
His figures of five for 31 and two for 30 have pushed him up to a career-best 13th position, not surprising since no bowler has taken more Test wickets at a better average than him since 1900.
Left-armer Trent Boult's figures of two for 48 and three for 39 have lifted him two places to 11th position while for India, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane's progress of three places to 13th position after scores of 49 and 15, was the only notable gain.
Ravindra Jadeja has slipped behind West Indian Jason Holder to second position after a week at the top of the rankings for all-rounders.
In the T20 Rankings, West Indies' left-handed opener Evin Lewis has moved from 13th to 10th position after a player of the match effort of 71 off 35 balls in the first of the two matches of their ongoing five-match series that counted for this week's rankings.
Left-arm spinner Fabian Allen has progressed 23 places to 20th position.
South Africa's Quinton de Kock (up one place to 22nd), Reeza Hendricks (up three places to 24th) and Temba Bavuma (up 24 places to 64th) are among the others to move up.
England's 3-0 series win over Sri Lanka, which should come as a morale booster for the 50-over World champions ahead of this year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup, sees several of their players move up too.
Chris Jordan (up five places to 11th), Mark Wood (up 11 places to 14th), Sam Curran (up 62 places to 39th) and David Willey (up 23 places to 51st) have progressed in the bowlers' list while for Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga has moved up five places to fifth and Dushmantha Chameera 41 places to 43rd.
?? @BLACKCAPS captain Kane Williamson is back to the No.1 spot in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's Test Player Rankings for batting.
— ICC (@ICC) June 30, 2021
Full list: https://t.co/OMjjVx5Mgf pic.twitter.com/1DWGBonmF2
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Goa nightclub fire: Owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket after tragedy, say police
Panaji (PTI): Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused and owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive blaze claimed 25 lives, fled to Phuket hours after the tragedy, Goa Police said on Monday.
"Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of the CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest," a senior police officer said.
A massive fire at the nightclub, some 25 kilometres away from Panaji, on late Saturday night killed 25 persons. The deceased comprised 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi. Five injured people were undergoing treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
After registering an FIR against them, a Look Out Circular was issued against them by December 7 by the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at the request of the Goa Police.
The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai was contacted, and it was found that both the accused had taken the 6E 1073 flight to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, immediately after the fire incident, which occurred around midnight, the officer said.
READ ALSO: Goa nightclub fire: Owner Saurabh Luthra expresses grief, assures management support
He said the Goa Police had immediately dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the accused Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra.
"Since they were not available, a notice under the appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house. This shows their intent to avoid the police investigation", he said.
Goa Police have obtained transit remand of Bharat Kohli, an employee of the club, and are bringing him to Goa.
He also said that the postmortem on all 25 deceased has been completed and bodies handed over to their families.
