Nathan Lyon leap-frogs fellow Aussies to climb up ICC Test bowler rankings

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon is now Australia’s highest ranked Test bowler after catapulting up the the ICC world rankings following his stellar performances in the first and second Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series.

Lyon combined for a total 16 wickets across Adelaide and Perth which included the double scalp of Indian skipper, and world’s best batsmen, Virat Kohli.

The display has thrust the 31-year-old into seventh position in the the international rankings ahead of Australian pacemen Pat cummins (eighth) and Josh Hazlewood (ninth).

Mitchell Starc climbed one spot to No.15, making Australia the only country to have four bowlers in the world top 15. No other has more than two.

Lyons dazzling eight-wicket haul in Perth not only earned him player-of-the-match honours but also lifted the off-spinner to No.25 on the all-time leading Test wicket-takers.

"It's a bit surreal," Lyon said when told of the record this week.

"Those types of milestones for me personally haven't really sunk in. I don't think I'm at the top of my game yet.

"I think I've still got a lot of improvement, a lot of learning about the game and about off-spin bowling. I believe there's a lot around the corner for me if I keep working hard and keep wanting to get better.

"At the end of my career I'll sit down with my family and friends and hopefully have a beer with mum and dad and my brother and everyone else and just go 'OK, that's where we got to, that's pretty special'.

"But I've got a lot to achieve in my eyes."

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s strong showing of 123 in the second Domain Test helped the skipper strengthen his grasp on the Test batsman top spot.

He sits ahead of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and suspended Australian skipper Steve Smith.

Currently, Australia’s highest-ranked eligible batsmen is Usman Khawaja at 12th.

ICC Test bowling rankings | Top 10

1. Kagiso Rabada (SA) 882 rankings points

2. James Anderson (Eng) 874

3. Vernon Philander (SA) 826

4. Mohammad Abbas (Pak) 821

5. Ravindra Jadeja (Ind) 796

6. Ravi Ashwin (Ind) 778

7. Nathan Lyon (Aus) 766

8. Pat Cummins (Aus) 761

9. Josh Hazlewood (Aus) 758

10. Yasir Shah (Pak) 757

ICC Test batting rankings | Top 10

1. Virat Kohli (Ind) 934 rankings points

2. Kane Williamson (NZ) 915

3. Steve Smith (Aus) 892

4. Cheteshwar Pujara (Ind) 816

5. Joe Root (Eng) 807

6. David Warner (Aus) 787

7. Dimuth Karunaratne (SL) 752

8. Dean Elgar (SA) 724

= 9. Ashar Ali (Pak) 708

= 9. Henry Nicholls (NZ) 708