Triple-ton propels Younis to No. 1 spot

Younis Khan has jumped up six places to the No. 1 spot in the ICC rankings for Test batsmen following his 313 against Sri Lanka in the first Test at the National Stadium in Karachi. Younis scored a triple-century in the run-fest - the match also included two double-hundreds and a 150-plus score - and the new Pakistan captain's effort in their first Test in 14 months was enough to topple West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Younis' 313 helped Pakistan amass 765 for 6 in reply to Sri Lanka's 644 for 7. His was the third triple-century by a Pakistan batsman following Hanif Mohammad's 337 against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1958 and Inzamam-ul-Haq's 329 against New Zealand in Lahore being the others.

It marked a positive start with the bat for Pakistan's new leader; this was Younis' first game in charge since he took over from Shoaib Malik last month. Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, remained in fourth spot, despite his 248 in Karachi, with Kumar Sangakkara in third. With only a one-point lead, Younis will however find it tough to retain his position.

In the bowlers' rankings, Muttiah Muralitharan's lead at the top was reduced to 17 points after he took just the one wicket in 65 overs in Karachi, while Chaminda Vaas dropped two places to No. 10.

ICC Player Rankings

Test batsmen
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	Younis Khan	PAK	880
2	S. Chanderpaul	WI	879
3	K.C. Sangakkara	SL	847
4	D.P.M.D. Jayawardena	SL	834
5	M.J. Clarke	AUS	825
6	K.P. Pietersen	ENG	812
7	R.T. Ponting	AUS	810
8	G.C. Smith	SA	797
9	G. Gambhir	IND	772
10	M.E.K. Hussey	AUS	761
	Top 100

Test bowlers
Rank	Name	Country	Rating
1	M. Muralidaran	SL	861
2	D.W. Steyn	SA	844
3	S.R. Clark	AUS	783
4	M.G. Johnson	AUS	756
5	M. Ntini	SA	754
6	J.E. Taylor	WI	705
7	R.J. Sidebottom	ENG	696
8	Harbhajan Singh	IND	686
9	B. Lee	AUS	673
10	W.P.U.J.C. Vaas	SL	671
	Top 100