Rohit Sharma reaches career-best ranking after heroics against South Africa

Dubai: After performing brilliantly in the first Test against South Africa, India batsman Rohit Sharma on Monday reached a career-best 17th position in the ICC Test Player Ranking.

Sharma smashed a ton in both the innings, scoring 176 and 127 runs in the first and second innings respectively. He improved his ranking by 36 spots.

It was Sharma's first time opening the innings in the longest format of the game and became the first player to score a century in each innings of his maiden Test as an opener.

India registered a 203-run victory over South Africa and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

Another notable improvement made by an Indian batsman in the ranking is Mayank Aggarwal, who hit double-century in the first innings of the match. Aggarwal attained a career-best 25th position.

The skipper Virat Kohli still sits on the second position, 38 points behind the number one batsman, Australia's Steve Smith.

In the bowling department, Ravichandran Ashwin made his comeback in the top 10, securing the 10th spot in the list. He had picked up seven wickets in the first innings of the match and eight overall.

Ashwin also gained a spot in the ICC Test All-rounders ranking to attain the fifth spot. In the list, Ravindra Jadeja went past Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan to hold the second spot.