Kumble retains sixth spot in ICC rankings

Captain Anil Kumble was the lone Indian among the top 10 bowlers as he retained his sixth position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings announced here Tuesday.
Among the batsmen, Rahul Dravid slipped one place to 16th while his teammates Sachin Tendulkar (14th), Sourav Ganguly (17th) and V.V.S. Laxman (18th) retained their positions as they go into the third Test against Australia, starting Wednesday in Perth.
Kumble, with 761 rating points, is lying sixth in the list that continues to be topped by Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (907). South Africa pacer Dale Steyn (832 points), who last week moved up one place to the second spot by virtue off an excellent series against West Indies, also retained his position.
Steyn, 24, took 20 wickets in the three-match series at an average of 19.10 to top Australia’s Stuart Clark, who slipped to third place. However, Clark, who is just two rating points behind Steyn, has the opportunity to regain the second place during the Perth Test.
Australian speedster Brett Lee is at fourth spot and his South African counterpart Makhaya Ntini is at fifth.
Among the batsmen, Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka continues to lead the pack with 933 points, followed by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who seemed to be returning to form during the controversial Sydney Test, is at third position. He has a chance to climb up to be among the top two in the two remaining Tests against India.
Among all-rounders, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, by virtue of his magnificent 94 in against Bangladesh in the second Test, returned to the third position with 337 points. The 28-year-old spinner-turned-all-rounder overtook South African Shaun Pullock, who retired after the third Test against West Indies in Durban.
ICC rankings:
Batsmen:
1. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka, 933 rating points)2. Jacques Kallis (South Africa, 917)3. Ricky Ponting (Australia, 901)4. Mike Hussey (Australia, 900)5. Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan, 880)6. Matthew Hayden (Australia, 858)7. Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka, 835)8. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies, 816)9. Kevin Pietersen (England, 804)10. Yunus Khan (Pakiatan, 799)
Bowlers:
1. Muttiah Muralidaran (Sri Lanka, 907 rating points)2. Dale Steyn (South Africa, 832)3. Stuart Clark (Australia, 830)4. Brett Lee (Australia, 773)5. Makhaya Ntini (South Africa, 768)6. Anil Kumble (India, 761)7. Shane Bond (New Zealand, 709)8. Shaun Pollock (South Africa, 702)9. Mathew Hoggard (England, 695)10. Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan, 684)
All-rounders:
1. Jacques Kallis (South Africa, 527)2. Andrew Flintoff (England, 340)3. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand, 337)4. Shaun Pollock (South Africa, 323)5. Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka, 276)