Pujara 7th, Ashwin 8th in ICC Test rankings

Cheteshwar Pujara gained a spot to be the highest-ranked Indian batsman at seventh even as R Ashwin remained steady eighth in the bowlers' list of the latest ICC Test rankings released on Sunday.

Apart from Pujara, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian batsman in the top-20. Dhoni is joint 20 th after dropping a rung in the latest rankings.

Among the bowlers, spinner Pragyan Ojha is the next best-placed Indian after Ashwin after rising a couple of positions to 11th. Pacer Zaheer Khan is 17th after losing one position.

South Africa's AB de Villiers has overtaken teammate Hashim Amla at the top of the rankings for batsmen.

The latest rankings were released after South Africa beat Pakistan by an innings and 92 runs in the second and final Test in Dubai on Saturday to level the series 1-1.

De Villiers, who came into the Dubai Test on 882 ratings points, earned 27 ratings points for his knock of 164 to finish at a career-best 909 to thereby become only the 28th batsman in the history of the game to break the 900-rating points barrier, a benchmark for top batsmen.

Player of the match in the Dubai Test and South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who scored 234 and shared a record 338-run fifth wicket stand with de Villiers, has jumped seven places to eighth to return to the top 10 for the first time since August 2012.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has also moved up the rankings, advancing one place to a career-best sixth as he continued his consistency with the bat, scoring a fighting 88 in the second innings of the Dubai Test.